Local Wichita Teens and Feels Good Music Band spark innovative community-wide approach to promoting healthy relationships during Domestic Violence Awareness Month

WICHITA, Kan. – Local Wichita teens are joining with Start Strong teen leaders across the country to create and orchestrate events as part of this national day to promote healthy relationships and prevent relationship violence during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Peer leaders from Start Strong Wichita will be leading a youth rally and music concert with the Feels Good band to mobilize their local community to promote healthy relationships to stop teen dating violence. Feels Good will debut a new song on healthy relationships accompanied by arts and craft, dance and contests, followed by a student march to the Courthouse. Teens will be inviting the Wichita community to join in a national conversation on healthy relationships at http://www.startstrongwichita.org/.

Start Strong Wichita was recently chosen as 1of 11 sites from over 500 organizations nationwide to receive $1 million in funding as part of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships, the largest prevention initiative ever funded to find new breakthrough ways to empower 11 – 14 year olds to break the cycle of violence.

In 2006, nearly 50 percent of all reported rape victims in Wichita were under the age of 19. Wichita accounted for 22 percent of all rapes in Kansas.

This event for teens will take place on Thursday, Oct. 22 at the Murdock Theatre in the 20th Century Center at Elm and Broadway from 3:30 to 5 p.m. The march to the Courthouse is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. Participants of the event are Middle School and High School students from Big Brothers Big Sisters, YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, Go Zones! and other after school programs.

It is one piece of Start Strong Wichita’s major comprehensive four year program that combines and expands on innovative strategies in education, policy change, community outreach and social marketing campaigns to discover the most promising ways to combat this costly and growing public health epidemic.

Start Strong Wichita Youth Leaders have worked to plan this event with the goal to engage youth, as well as adults in their lives, on the topic of healthy relationships and work toward stopping teen dating violence.

The Community is Encouraged to Get Involved, here is how:
• Beginning Oct. 22, participate in an online discussion sharing thoughts on what a healthy relationship looks like at http://www.startstrongwichita.org/.
• View and share the Wichita community PSA on YouTube titled “Start Strong: What does a healthy relationship look like? Join the conversation.”
• Join us as a friend on Facebook.com/StartStrongWichita

Be a part today and make a difference in breaking the cycle of abuse in Wichita and the nation.

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About Catholic Charities
The mission of Catholic Charities is to demonstrate the Gospel values of love and justice through service, education, advocacy and collaboration. Catholic Charities, Inc., the Wichita-based social service agency operated by the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, meets community needs in south central and southeast Kansas by providing tools to change lives. Collaboration is important to providing services and engaging in community needs in innovative ways. Catholic Charities leads Start Strong Wichita with the support of partnering agencies: Wichita Public School District, Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center (WASAC) and Wichita State University Department of Sociology and the Center for Community Support and Research.

About Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, we work with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years we’ve brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those we serve. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, we expect to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information visit http://www.rwjf.org/.