Lutheran Social Service issued the following announcement on Jan. 21.
Cherish All Children, a service of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, will host a community event designed to equip community members to support youth in making safe and healthy choices in relationships, to prevent potentially exploitative situations.
Empowering Youth: Safe & Healthy Relationships will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, 1605 Eustis Street, Saint Paul. Event attendees are encouraged to register at Eventbrite. Join us as we come together during National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
In this third annual event, community leaders will discuss how we can all play a role in supporting the safety of young people in our families and communities. According to the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually assaulted or abused by age 18.
“We all share a responsibility to protect children from sexual violence so young people can build positive, healthy relationships,” said Joy McElroy, Director of Cherish All Children for Lutheran Social Service. “Our goal is to empower youth with the knowledge to make safe and healthy choices, both online and in person. We can equip faith leaders, families, and community members with tools to get started.”
Online safety, red flags in relationships, vulnerabilities, and disability-focused curriculum are some of the key topics that will be shared in this interactive event. One young person engaged in a previous training said, “Everyone should hear this! Parents should hear this! This should be in every one of our schools!”
This year’s event will feature:
- Monica Jones, Cherish All Children Youth Program Coordinator and Not a Number trainer
- Joy McElroy, Cherish All Children Executive Director
- Adrianna Perez, MN Coalition Against Sexual Assault Prevention Program Coordinator
- Logan Sand, LSS Program Manager and Seeing and Exploring Life’s Future trainer
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