Family Advocates Blog

New Building and New Location By Melissa Palfrey From October of 2019 to September of 2020, Family Advocates received 393 calls for...

As a friend of our agency, we want to keep you informed and up-to-date on the path before us. As you are most likely aware, we partnered...

Deborah J. Vagins, President and CEO, National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). On Friday, June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court...

By: Matt Larson, Family Advocates' Youth Services Director Family Advocates sees a need to expand our reach. Our practice of in-school,...

Sexual assault and child abuse are not comfortable topics for the vast majority of people.

By: Mikayla Onken, Outreach Services Advocate "Hi, My name is Mikayla and I am the services advocate here at Family Advocates. I work in...

Family Advocates' Services By: Melissa Duve, Shelter Services Director Hi My Name is Melissa and I am the shelter Services Director here...

By Norma Grinnell, Client Services Advocate Family Advocates is resuming our in-person support groups for victims of abuse. These...

By: Darlene Masters, Executive Director at Family Advocates Bill Cosby is not an innocent man. He was convicted of sexual assault. A mere...

By: Kendra Kaul, Sexual Assault Outreach Advocate I am Kendra Kaul, a sexual assault outreach advocate. The majority of my work focuses...

Tristyn Newman, Iowa County Services Coordinator After a long year of social distancing and safety measures, Iowa County Family Advocates...

I believe anyone can get through anything with support. Finding your support system is very important. We should all be able to come up...

Hi Paula here, please look for all of our posts on Family Advocates' Facebook page. I was asked to share with you one thing that stands...

April is sexual assault awareness month and as always during April there is Denim Day. Denim Day's origins can be viewed here. Today we...

Hi my name is Paula Schoenberg and I am the Outreach Services Director for Family Advocates, I work with survivors of sexual violence. In...

As a mom, wife, and advocate, I’m always taking care of and helping others. And I truly love being a helper and caretaker! But I’ve...

Hi! Welcome back to my second video of the week. My name is Kira and I’m the youth services advocate for Family Advocates. In this video...

My name is Kira, and I am the Youth Services Advocate for Family Advocates. First, I’d like to tell you a little bit about how I got to...

Self-care looks different to everyone, but it is crucial for everyone to do. Self-care should be something you incorporate each day and...

A few statistics that stood out to me were that 1 in 3 females and 1 in 4 males had experienced sexual violence within their lifetime....

I am Kendra Kaul, the Sexual Assault Outreach Advocate for Family Advocates. I mainly work with survivors and victims of sexual violence.

I felt that after talking about some of the contributing factors to child abuse, that it would be a good time to talk about self-care and...

Hi! If you missed my video from earlier this week, my name is Matt Larson. April is child abuse awareness month. In the reporting of...

Hi, I’m Matt Larson, the youth services Director at Family Advocates. I have been at Family Advocates coming up on three years. I’d like...

By: Melissa Duve, Shelter Services Director and Norma Grinnell, Client Services Advocate A dangerous mix, the holidays, social...

The phrase that seems to entirely encompass this is infinite present. We have no definite future plans, no anticipation of future events

Someday I would be able to marry who I wanted no matter what their gender was. This hope was squashed when my mother called...

But, it is my belief that normal will look different. What do you want to be your new normal?

Being isolated with an abuser can and usually will increase abusive incidents and level of force. Here are a few ideas to remain safe.

Remember, we always act as a beacon for our children. We are examples of how to function in a community; and here we are, at this pivotal...

We access our resilient core daily in ways great and small such as when we lose our keys or cell phone or when our alarm doesn’t go off....

the national crisis has sparked a lot of challenging emotions for teens: anxiety, worry, fear, and depression.

Do what you need to do for your own mental health to get through this time. Blare the music. Scream out loud. Allow yourself to feel...

Family Advocates asks that you vote “No” to Marsy’s Law. Many concerns have come from other states that have ratified Marsy’s laws...

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month so you will be seeing several Teal Ribbon and hashtag SAAM posts this month to create awareness...

when I hear Safe at Home, my thoughts turn to those who might not be “Safe” in their home. Those that are not ready or able to leave..

Over several years, several sex trafficking victims who were sold via this site waged in a legal battle

Sexual Assault Outreach Advocate, Kendra Kaul People who are convicted of one of these crimes is mandated to be on the sex offender...

Trauma is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation...

Engaging communities and providing outreach especially for the under served populations...

There is no right way or wrong way to "deal with" or "handle" trauma.

Here is a list of some of the apps that I recommend learning about to protect those you care about....

a shelter support dog would be very good for our clients needs..

Predators are using online gaming and anonymous apps to recruit victims.

Having a safe place for their body and their mind to heal without fear is important in order to help them focus on their healing journey.

Tailor help and resources to each individual's and their families' needs

talking to your children often is the best prevention method.

Just remember everyone has the right to be safe and respected.

It wasn't your fault............

Today, one in five teens has a diagnosable mental health disorder, such as depression or anxiety. And these teen mental disorders are...