Annual teen violence awareness walk returns on April 25

When Jiovana was 12 years old, her mother learned about The Healing Center, a Brooklyn-based organization that works to prevent interpersonal violence, abuse and sexual assault. Her mom, Jiovana tells the Sunset Post, had been isolated and battered for more than a decade and, pregnant with her third child, wanted to get away from her partner. Thanks to a Spanish-speaking counselor, Jiovana says the family was able to find the support and security necessary to reestablish themselves.

But her mom was not the only person to benefit from the services The Healing Center provided.

Shortly after that first visit in 2013, Jiovana began attending weekly meetings of Daughters of the Lotus, a longtime Healing Center group for female-identified and gender-nonconforming adolescents and teens whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence or interpersonal conflict. “It was eye-opening to me to learn about the dynamics in healthy and unhealthy relationships,” Jiovana says. “I learned about power and control. I learned about common abusive behaviors, and I learned to see patterns and recognize signs that indicate when things in a relationship are not okay.”

This awareness has enabled Jiovana to not only be an astute observer of her own relationship dynamics, but also a compassionate, mindful anti-violence advocate for her friends, family and neighbors. “No one tells you that they are going to be abusive when you first meet them,” she says. “I don’t know if there is a way to completely avoid encounters with abusive people, but I know that recognizing the signs and knowing where to find helpful resources can give someone being abused the strength and courage to come forward and seek help.”

And they do.

Each year, approximately 1,400 people are assisted by the Center. Now based in Bay Ridge, The Healing Center opened in Sunset Park in 2000 and was initially directed toward the diverse Latine population.

“Our founder, Antonia Clemente, saw that there was a huge service gap for Spanish-speaking women in the neighborhood,” Stephanie Rovine, program and development director at the Center, tells the Post. “Spanish speakers had no place to go for help.”

In the subsequent 26 years, the Center has broadened its reach to provide services to a small number of male victims as well as people outside of the Latine community. Moreover, while the Center does not shelter those fleeing violence, its focus is on building awareness of abusive behaviors, educating the community about safety, monitoring federal, local and state legislation in coalition with other anti-violence advocates, and providing direct services to people who have been victimized by, or witnessed, violence or economic, emotional, sexual or other abuse.

Both individual and group sessions are offered, all free of charge to participants, thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Chase Bank, TD Bank, the New York City Council, the New York Women’s Foundation, Allstate and the Hispanic Federation, among others.

What’s more, the Center is the prime sponsor of an annual Teen Violence Awareness Walk, which took place on Saturday, April 25. Now in its 14th year, the walk began with a 10 a.m. rally in Cadman Plaza and then marched over the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall. As in past years, the walk highlighted the high rate of dating violence among those 18 and younger. According to Rovine, 19 percent of adolescents and teenagers currently experience sexual or physical dating violence, about half experience stalking or other forms of harassment, and as many as 65 percent experience psychological abuse from a dating partner or classmate who constantly monitors their online activity, heckles them with frequent putdowns and criticism, or attempts to control where they go and with whom they associate.

Then there’s digital abuse. Noeline Maldonado, the Center’s executive director, stresses the growing threat this poses to youth as they come of age. “There have been cases where someone’s likeness was altered to depict them in a sexually compromising position,” she explains. “Other times, people target youth and convince them to send in nude photos, which are then circulated without their consent. Everything is changing quickly, and The Healing Center is trying to be a safe space for young people to come, talk and strategize,” she says. “We’re developing materials to identify red flags for digital or tech abuse. This is in addition to the work we do to help identify other troubling behaviors, from love bombing to isolation to demands for log-in information for every account, and the monitoring of every movement and conversation the intended victim is part of.”

It’s a huge mission that extends from talk to concrete action, with Center staff making themselves available to accompany victims, whether of an online violation, interpersonal violence or sexual assault, to court, a hospital or a local precinct. Still, while the short-term goal is to assist victims in every way possible, the long-term goal is to end all forms of societal violence and abuse.

“We know that an intellectual understanding of toxic relationships is not enough to change behavior,” Rovine adds. “As advocates, we also have to promote self-love, self-esteem, good communication skills, and teach people how to regulate their emotions. Right now, we’re looking for funding to expand our children’s program because young children who have witnessed abuse need an outlet to express their feelings and thoughts through play and other therapies. We know that this is an essential element of breaking the cycle.”

Former Healing Center client Jiovana agrees and sings the praises of the Center and the programs it offers. “Going to The Healing Center had a huge, positive impact on my life and my family’s life,” she says. “I finished college, and my mom and siblings are healthy and safe. We’re all moving forward thanks to the support we received.”