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Youth Support Services
You deserve to feel safe, heard and supported. If you’re a young person experiencing abuse, harm or something that just doesn’t feel right, you don’t have to handle it alone. We offer confidential, judgment-free support and can help you understand your options at your own pace. You choose what you share, we’re here to listen.
How We Can Help
Safehope Advocates Can:
Help you plan for your physical, emotional and online safety
Empower you to explore your goals and interests
Help you work on building skills based on your interests
Support you in processing your thoughts and feelings
Connect you to resources in your community
Talk to you about healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationships
Talk to you about healthy boundaries and honoring consent
Go with you to court or doctor appointments
Refer you to mentoring or therapy services at Safehope
Safe & Supportive Care
Helping Youth Navigate Challenges with Confidence
Healthy Relationships
In a healthy relationship, you or your partner are:
Respectful
Communicating openly
Equal partners
Setting clear boundaries
Honest & trusting
Keeping your own identity, friends and hobbies
Unhealthy Relationships
In an unhealthy relationship, you and your partner are:
Disrespectful
Not communicating
Aggressive
Losing yourself
Dishonest & suspicious
Keeping the other from family, friends or hobbies
Red Flags Of Abusive Relationships
Sometimes it can be hard to understand whether your relationship is good or possibly abusive. Does your partner:
Grab, restrain, hit, kick or stop you from leaving?
Call you names, make fun of you or constantly criticize?
Try to keep you from hanging out with friends or going places?
Tell other people private things without your permission?
Blame you for their feelings or actions?
Threaten to hurt themselves if you breakup?
Try to get you in trouble or lie about you to others?
Pressure you to do things you don't want?
If you answered YES to any of these, you may be in an abusive relationship.
Warning Signs of Abusive Relationships in Young People
Warning signs that your friends or loved ones may be in abusive relationships include:
They may have unexplained marks or bruises
Their partner seems jealous or possessive
They constantly get texts or calls from their partner
They have decreased interest in hobbies or activities
They are withdrawing from friends and family
There may be significant changes in their appearance
They may seem depressed or anxious
Their partner is aggressive to other people or animals
The partner’s behavior in front of people doesn’t match how they’re described
Supporting Young People In Abusive Relationships
Listen, let them talk without interrupting
Be accepting, believe what they say and don’t judge even if you disagree
Be supportive, reassure them the abuse is not their fault
Don’t bad mouth the abuser, they likely have complicated feelings about their partner and don’t need to worry about your feelings right now
Avoid ultimatums, don’t punish them for making decisions you disagree with or it may isolate them more
Be prepared, educate yourself about dating violence and the resources available to you and the young people in your life
Healthy Relationships Matte
Dating Violence Safety
Everyone deserves to be safe from violent relationships. If you are experiencing dating violence or questioning whether your relationship is healthy or not, seeking support from a trusted adult is crucial. Safehope Advocates can help you think through your situation and help you plan how to communicate with a trusted adult. Safety planning assistance is just a phone call away.
