February is national teen dating violence awareness month and Zirconia Vansauwa from Sanctuary, Inc. appeared on WHOP on Thursday to share what dating abuse looks like and to spotlight the support they have received from recent donation drives and campaigns.
Sanctuary is a domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocacy and support nonprofit that operates in the Pennyrile region.
Vansauwa says 1-in-10 high schoolers have experienced physical violence from a dating partner and 1-in-4 teenage girls have experienced a form of emotional abuse from a partner. To raise awareness for both physical and emotional abuse, Vansauwa says they are sharing posts to their social media about the importance of establishing boundaries.
With a lot of dating occurring through apps and online, Vansauwa says it’s important for teenagers to set digital boundaries as well. Along with highlighting boundaries, Vansauwa is also focusing on trust because a lack of trust in a relationship may result in unhealthy dynamics.
By sharing dating information, Vansauwa says she hopes they can help teenagers be able to form healthy relationships at a young age to stop cycles of abuse from forming and so that as adults they know what abuse looks like.
Vansauwa also talked about the Shop and Share donation drive they participated in on February 10 and how they were benefited by the United Way of Pennyrile’s recent campaign. From Shop and Share, Sanctuary received around $3,500 worth of grocery items and monetary donations which is around double of what they received last year.
Vansauwa says all the goods and donations they received will go toward their 24/7 domestic violence victim shelter and is thankful to all those that donated and helped them raise and collect donations.
At their campaign celebration the United Way announced that they surpassed their goal of raising $700,000 for sixteen partner agencies in the region and Sanctuary was one of those agencies. Vansauwa says the funds they receive from the campaign will go toward their spiritual enrichment program because state funds can’t support a religious program.
Vansauwa says the spiritual enrichment program allows them to reach out to and support those whose healing journeys are guided by their faith. More information about Sanctuary and what services they offer can be found at thesanctuaryinc.com and Sanctuary, Inc. on Facebook.
Members of Sanctuary working at a Stop and Shop donation location, photo courtesy of Sanctuary, Inc. on Facebook.