Youth Over Violence Summer Leadership Institute
This year marks the 12th year anniversary of the Youth Over Violence Summer Leadership Institute! The Youth Over Violence Leadership Institute is for youth who are committed to building and making powerful social change through awareness, advocacy and violence prevention strategies. The program empowers youth between the ages of 14-19 by educating them on healthy relationships, promoting awareness of teen dating violence, and enhancing community organizing skills.
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This year, 23 youth leaders completed and graduated from the Institute! Back in person and hosted in our new downtown Metro office conference center, the youth leaders gathered together daily and learned about ending violence in their communities. The Institute first focused on learning about critical issues impacting the youth, their families and community via our In Touch With Teens Curriculum. And then in the last two weeks, they chose special projects through intern tracts. This year’s tracks were creative writing, podcast development and art and activism which we call artivism. Tracks were led by passionate professionals experienced in their fields: creative writing by Rhiannon McGavin and Demian Pritchard; podcast development by Jason Barr; artivism by Ria Tirre and Jenni. Projects created reflected the theme of each track and implemented different violence prevention strategies.
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At their graduation last week at the Bresse Foundation, the students had the opportunity to showcase what they learned throughout the summer and present their projects to their friends and family. Following graduation, these leaders will be influencing, organizing, and educating their school communities and will undoubtedly have impact on their families and the wider community. Check out this slideshow of photos from the summer, the final projects, and the graduation ceremony!
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For more information on our 5 decades of social service, social change, and social justice, click here.
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Introducing Increased Website Accessibility
We are excited to announce that Peace Over Violence has invested in Recite Me, a new accessibility tool for our website. In honor of our 50th anniversary and our commitment to making our resources as inclusive as possible, this toolbar allows visitors to our site to customize their experience in the way that works the best for them, providing language and accessibility support in real time. Being able to offer this support is essential for over 25% of the population who may encounter barriers when exploring websites due to having a disability, learning difficulty, visual impairment, or if they speak English as a second language.
To ensure all our website visitors can access information and services barrier-free, everyone can now customize their experience through a range of tools. You can activate these tools by clicking the accessibility icon located in the bottom right hand corner of every page on our Peace Over Violence and Denim Day websites. We’ve also added a page that provides more details about the specific tools available.
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The new toolbar allows visitors to choose from a range of features including translation into over 100 languages, text-to-speech functionality, reading aids, and styling options. This includes adjustments to color, font type, and size. Providing an inclusive experience online is important to us and we are committed to ensuring we help everyone to view our content and access our services in a way that works best for them. Check it out on our website now!
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Program Highlight: Legal Advocacy Project
POV’s Legal Advocacy Project provides free, comprehensive legal services for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors and their families with legal issues in the areas of immigration and family law. In 2020 and 2021, POV’s Legal Services department assisted more than 500 clients per year, not including other referrals and consults. And now 2022 is proving to be an even busier year; since January, we’ve welcomed close to 350 clients for services. Our summer legal internship program allows us to continue to meet this high demand while simultaneously teaching and guiding the next wave of future attorneys. This year we were happy to welcome four amazing summer interns. Their contribution to the organization this summer was deeply impactful and they will be missed.
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Cailin Ruff
Juris Doctor Candidate, May 2024
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
“This summer I had the pleasure of working with the amazing legal team at Peace Over Violence. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to learn a variety of skills from numerous talented and caring people! More importantly, it was a privilege to work in a field that gives back to so many people in need. A big thank-you to everyone on the LAP POV team for an unforgettable summer!
Thank you for an amazing summer!!!”
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Eugine Choo (they/them)
J.D. Candidate, Class of 2024
UCLA School of Law
“Working at LAP was a wonderful summer experience that made me renew my commitment to a career in advocating for survivors. Thank you LAP team for the amazing time!”
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MacKenzie Trexler (she/her)
J.D. Candidate | Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, 2024
"I had such a great summer at POV. Everyone in the office is so friendly and always willing to teach me and I got a lot of substantive work. Couldn't have asked for a better summer!"
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Kimberly Bravo
"I liked gaining experience interning at a nonprofit law program, everyone in the office was very friendly. My takeaway from my experience would be that I learned a lot interning for an immigration lawyer and I gained a better understanding of what the immigration process is like."
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POV’s People: Where are they now?
Throughout this year, we will be highlighting individuals or groups that have impacted our work over the last 50 years.
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Claire Kaplan
Former POV Volunteer, Board member, and staff member
"I always like to say that I was an accidental volunteer at POV—although then it was the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women. In 1983 (more or less), I was planning to meet my friend Linda BloomBecker, at LACAAW’s booth at the Westwood Crafts Fair. Linda was a LACAAW volunteer at the time. I arrived at the booth at the predetermined time, but no Linda. This was decades before the advent of the cell phone, so found out later that she was ill and couldn’t make it. But this turned out to be a fortuitous event, as I ended up chatting with Krysia Dankowski, who convinced me to fill out the volunteer application form! It’s a cliché to say that the rest is history but in my case, the cliché is true. After training to be a hotline advocate, I realized that I had found my activist home—one that allowed me to engage in work that combined all my passions: gender, race and economic justice, empowering survivors, the creative arts, and preventing harm. Several times the LACAAW staff invited me to apply for various jobs that opened up but I was determined to remain a volunteer and continue working in the film industry, so that if I did start to burn out, I could step back. That didn’t happen.
Soon I joined the Advisory Board, then the Board of Directors, then I realized that my future was here, and I joined the staff as Director of Training and Outreach. When my housemate, Jennifer Owens Brown (whom I met while training as a volunteer), joined the staff as Director of Development, we collaborated on a number of projects: staging the Humanitarian Awards with Joseph Megel, producing Comedy Night at the Comedy Store, and a benefit concert for LACAAW and El Rescate with performers such as Sabia and Bonnie Raitt.
I’m especially proud of some of the programs I helped initiate, including the first Deaf hotline advocate training and helping elevate LACAAW’s visibility as a pioneer in Deaf survivor support with all the wonderful Deaf volunteers. I also met my wife, Lisa, as a result of this work. This October we will celebrate 35th years together, and our 8th wedding anniversary.
My work at LACAAW led me to similar work in Washington, DC and then in Charlottesville, Virginia, where I ran the gender violence program at the University of Virginia Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center for nearly 29 years, providing both prevention education and victim advocacy. Since my retirement in 2020, I have continued this work as a consultant on Title IX/Sexual Misconduct in higher education, co-host a podcast with Katie Koestner, “Dear Katie: Survivor Stories”, and writing a guidebook for parents and friends of survivors that demystifies Title IX policy and how college campuses address these issues."
"My work at LACAAW/POV was life-changing in so many ways that it’s impossible to measure. I literally would not be where I am today—professionally and personally—if it were not for this amazing organization and the people who made it happen: Patti Giggans, Jennifer Owens Brown, Cathy Friedman, my officemates Sandra Henriquez and Tawnya Jackson, Bea Coppens, and so many wonderful volunteers."
— Claire Kaplan
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By Karen Weise
Dan Price was applauded for paying a minimum salary of $70,000 at his Seattle company and criticizing corporate greed. The adulation helped to hide and enable his behavior.
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By Laura King
Weeks would pass before the outside world learned of the horrors that occurred in streets and basements and back gardens of these once-tranquil suburbs and satellite towns, which were occupied for roughly a month before Russian forces in early April broke off a failed bid to seize the capital.
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By Abigail Russ
Military branches are taking a tougher stance to combat sexual assault to create safer environments for soldiers and encourage victims to come forward.
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By Jennifer Gollan and Grace Oldham for Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting
Red flags captured the attention of lawmakers in Washington, but they can only help save lives if police, prosecutors and judges know how to act on them.
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POV is hiring!
Looking to join the team at Peace Over Violence? Apply today!
Open Positions:
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Support healing services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
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CONTACT
Metro Headquarters
1541 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213.955.9090 office
213.955.9093 fax
213.785.2684 video
213.785.2749 video
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West San Gabriel Valley Center
892 N Fair Oaks Ave, Suite D
Pasadena, CA 91103
626.584.6191 office
626.584.6193 fax
626.243.7972 video
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