The Clay County Anti-Drug Coalition trying to educate local students about the challenges of violence in teen dating.
Youth Prevention Coordinator Daniel Roberts said violence ranges from physical abuse to mental abuse. Roberts said violence is prevalent in teen relationships.
“It can stem from students having different ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and just growing up in an environment where they have neglect in the home,” Roberts said. “It can be what they see in the community, so it’s just a lot of what they adapt of seeing.”
Roberts said the Clay County Anti-Drug Coalition is tackling violence in teen dating by creating signage to place at Clay County High School and also making social media posts to spread awareness. Roberts said violence in teen dating is a topic that is not often talked about.
“We want to reverse that,” Roberts said. “And show that there is positivity in relationships. Communication is key, Boundaries are key, healthy relationships, and all of that goes together so that there is no negative impact when you are in a relationship.”
Roberts said one big sign of violence in teen relationships is a teen’s lack of communication with parental figures. Roberts said parents should be checking in on their teens to make sure everything is going okay in their relationship.
“Always talk to them and have communication about having face words you know,” Roberts said. “If you are out with the person that they are with they just need to be able to have communication with parents in case things turn worse or turn bad so that way they can let their parents know that they need some help.”
Roberts said he understands that some parents may have a difficult time having conversations with their teens about relationships. Roberts said to approach them with kindness and understanding to try to figure out the status of their relationship.
Roberts said there are local resources that parents can use to help their teens who may be going through violence in their relationship. Roberts said the coalition has not seen a lot of violence in teen dating cases in Clay County but hopefully, the campaign will prevent further instances from happening.
