Kacey Anderson, Early Education Specialist at The Beaman Home, teaches a class of Edgewood Middle School students about the problem of teen dating violence.

KOSCIUSKO — Kacey Anderson, early education specialist at The Beaman Home, spoke to Edgewood Middle School classes in Warsaw. Anderson described various forms of abuse and discussed aspects of healthy relationships. She shared true stories of those who survived, as well as those who did not survive, abuse.  Anderson engaged with students by drawing out their thoughts on certain questions, and made a point to provide students with resources they could turn to in case they experience abuse.

Edith Rohrer, family and consumer sciences teacher at Edgewood Middle School, stressed the importance of educating teens on the topic of dating violence: “Teenagers run on emotions as they slowly develop decision making skills. Inviting Beaman Home guest speakers to my classroom provides students with tools to identify differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Knowing this can help them prevent violence in relationships the rest of their lives. Students also learn about community resources.”

Teen dating violence tends to slip past the radars of both adults and teenagers but happens quite often. Rohrer said, “With statistics showing that one in three women and one in five men will be abused, education is very important. Students need to know how to recognize, prevent abuse and get help if needed. People don’t often talk about this subject, so that makes it even more important for teens to learn about it.”

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. The Beaman Home encourages people of every age to interact with the issues of teen dating violence in order to minimize the effects of such violence and is glad to educate teenagers on how to prevent abuse of every kind.