Prevent Sexual Assualt

Yesterday I came across pictures from Project Unbreakable that made me think about something many of us would like to think will never happen to us, even though it is happening all around us. And that is sexual assault.

Project Unbreakable encourages victims of sexual assault to write down things their rapists told them or how they felt to get a piece of their story out there. Then they take a picture with what they wrote to show who they are. By showing who they are they are able to show people that sexual assault happens to a wide diversity of people. Men and women, Gay, straight, and transgendered. Black, brown, and white skinned. Variety of ages from teenagers to middle-aged adults. This allows people who come across their pictures to see a person a lot like them or someone they know and get them to realize how often sexual assault occurs.

Honestly, I think that was the first time I was able to realize how serious this issue is. Just seeing pictures of all these different people who had been raped hit me pretty hard. But that is a good thing because we need to think about these problems so that we may work to avoid them the best we can.

What is sexual assault? It is when someone initiates intercourse either against the other person's will or with out their consent. Meaning that someone can deny another persons advances and be completely ignored and taken advantage of. In that situation no consent is given. In another situation a person may be heavily impaired by drugs or alcohol and even though they may say yes, they may not be in their right state of mind.

DO NOT MISTAKE SEXUAL ASSUALT FOR A DRUNKEN MISHAP. Many perpetrators use alcohol as an excuse for engaging in sexual intercourse. When the victim does not even remember what happened they feel at fault. But they are not at fault. They were too impaired to give legit consent and their perpetrator saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Whenever alcohol is involved it increases the chances for sexual assault. In these situations it is best to drink responsibly so that you may not end up in a situation that may cause you harm. As you may know a lot of people do things when they are drunk that they regret when they sober up.

Many of us do not like to think that things like rape can happen to us but we have to think about these possible scenarios in order to think of ways to avoid the situation or be able to defend ourselves if someone does try to do harm to us.

If you have ever been sexually assaulted you should know it is not your fault and that you did not deserve it. Report the incident to someone that can help you. Do not let your perpetrator get away scotch free while you suffer from the pain they caused you. Telling people what happened can stop your perpetrator from taking advantage of others.

Be strong and bring awareness to the issue surrounding sexual assault. Whether you are a victim or not. Take a stand and educate those around you so that they may work to prevent the problem.

 

First Day: Post 3

Maria came to Whittier First Day broken. Everything in her life seemed to go wrong. Her husband and five children had passed away, her mother had been hospitalized fighting a coma, and someone who she thought was her friend left her beaten down in the middle of nowhere.

For months she wandered the streets aimlessly. As she wandered the streets she was so lost in her physical and emotional pain that she could not see that there was something wrong. She could not remember her name or speak. All she knew is that she had to go to Whittier, a place where she and her parents had once lived.

When she stumbled upon First Day she came across Pat Bouchard, First Day’s Housing Director. Bouchard asked if she was homeless and it was at that moment she came to realize that she needed help.

First Day was going to deny her residency because they believed that she was a chronic homeless, but Ted Knoll, current First Day Executive Director, decided to ask her some questions to see if she could request help.

She had lost the ability to speak and just as it seemed that she would not get the help she now knew she need she was able to write that she needed help and showed Knoll her note. That was when Knoll decided to help her.

Knoll had discovered documents that she had kept in her backpack and was able to identify the problems that led her to First Day and knew that she required medical assistance.

At the hospital they were able to discover that she had been walking around with 42 broken bones in her body and that she suffered brain damage. Upon making this discovery First Day came up with ideas to help her recover from her experiences and be able to fulfill her full potential.  

Once she became a resident the people of First Day helped her get back on her feet. She not only received the basic things people need to survive but she also learned that she had the strength to overcome whatever troubles may come her way in life.

Now she works to eliminate homelessness among the chronically homeless, helps to take care of homeless veterans, manages the Newlin Program to keep families together as they fight to overcome homelessness, works with the Prevention Program, and Rapid Housing Program. On top of working with and managing these programs she also volunteers for First Day.

First Day helped get her off of the streets and showed her how to fulfill her full potential. Now she is using her knowledge to help address the issue of homelessness, something she experienced firsthand. 

Maria is an inspiration. She is someone who has been through the unimaginable, survived it, and came out of it as a stronger person than she was before. Her story is a reminder that no matter how bad we think our lives are or what we have been through we can get through it and accomplish greatness.

Mr. Awesome's Memory Lives On

In Northern Miami on April 13, Calder Sloan died after being electrocuted due to what investigators believed was a faulty underwater light. Sloan was racing the nanny's adult son to the other end of the pool. As they swam the man who was racing Sloan felt a tingle and immediately jumped out. As  he was making his way out of the pool he shouting at Sloan to come out. Sloan was underwater and couldn't hear him in time before receiving a massive shock that threw him out of the water.

The nanny and her son called 911 and a neighbor rushed over and performed CPR. His parents were visiting friends when they received the news about his death.

Sloan was had just turned 7-years-old days before the time of his death. and now thanks to a friend his memory lives on through Sloan's self-portrait titled "Mr. Awesome", which was a nickname given to Sloan by his father.

After Sloan's death Jim Cahill, a family friend, came up with the idea of taking the self-portrait and suggested to people on Facebook to take pictures of themselves in different location holding "Mr. Awesome" in honor of Sloan.

"Mr. Awesome" has appeared on the home side of the Miami Heat's arena. Miami Heat's forward and senator Bill Nelson posed next to the portrait and many others on the internet have made their own tributes to Sloan as well. The Miami Seaquarium is even considering naming a soon to be born dolphin "Mr. Awesome".

Calder's family says the colorful self-portrait of a beaming young boy, with the words "Mr. Awesome" on top if it, is a symbol of his fun-loving and adventurous spirit.

First Day Project: Post 2

Me (smiling at the camera) volunteering at First Day with my classmates. 

Whittier First Day works to get the community involved in its effort to help the homeless. Many of the people in the community First Day reaches out to are those who attend Whittier High School or Whittier College. In doing this not only is First Day getting a part of the community to work beside them but they are also educating younger generations about the homeless. It allows a gateway for younger generations to meet homeless people working to move their way up in life rather than leave them with the typical stereotype of helpless homeless people, which can later serve as a reminder that when you come across a homeless person there is more to them than the fact that they are homeless. The experience also paves way for them to think of ways in which they may continue to contribute to the cause, whether that would be to educate others or participate in future events/fundraisers.  

An example of a project projected by First Day that involved young community members actually made it in an article done by the Whittier Daily News in 2011. The project aimed to find homeless people on the streets in order to offer to provide them services. Approximately 60 people participated in the project. Those who participated were representatives from churches, the Whittier Chamber of Commerce, Whittier High School students, and Whittier College students.           

The homeless people that participants came across were asked to complete surveys. Of the 32 individuals that had been asked to complete a survey 28 agreed to do so.  "I thought it went extremely well," said Ted Knoll, executive director of Whittier Area First Day Coalition, which led the effort. “We’re getting a lot of people registered.”

According to Know the goal was to get people to answer questions for a survey that will help ensure the most vulnerable received services. The questions on the survey asked about medical conditions, sleeping locations, whether the person had done jail time, asked if they had served the U.S. military, about their education, how they make money, and asked if they were provided an apartment would they accept the terms and conditions that must be met in order to live there. The project’s participants gave out food bags and water to people they met. Those who agreed to do the survey were given a $5 Subway card.

“It’s a good cause,” Amanda Amiel, a student from Whittier College at the time, said. "With the economy the way it is, we have issues with homeless people. We need to take time out of our day to address the issue. This is one measure to do this."

In October 2013, I went with one of my classes to First Day to volunteer. The experience was fun and the people I had met at First Day were very kind and seemed very happy. Even though all I did was help sort clothes for the organization I felt very uplifted after my visit. When I saw that First Day was offering internships at the Career Fair my mind immediately flashed back to that day and I found myself applying for the position of a social media intern.

The people of First Day do a good job of creating a positive and uplifting environment. Ted Knoll once mentioned to me that he hoped to spread the mission of First Day not only to help include the homeless in the community, but to rebuild the sense of community overall.

This made me think about how there was once a time when everybody helped support one another but now it seems that the majority of people only look out for themselves. I myself never knew what it meant to live in a community, because the world I was raised in was a dangerous one filled with untrustworthy people. You could not just go up to somebody and offer them help because even if they looked like they desperately needed help they may just end up hurting you.

I think that maybe it is because we stopped helping each other, people started turning on each other. Most of the people that I have seen on the news that lost their minds and committed some sort of crime are almost always someone who was not given the assistance they needed. Some grew up mentally ill but either had parents that rejected to acknowledge it or rejected to get them the services they needed. Others may have felt neglected and decided the only way to make themselves known was to kill people and make some sort of statement.

Needless to say we cannot continue to ignore those around us that need our help. We need to reconnect with our moral values and restore the faith in humanity that many have lost. It is time that we follow organizations such as first Day with the intent to create something better.  

First Day Project: Post 1

Whittier First Day is an organization that helps the homeless and at-risk individuals transition toward self-sufficiency. Their  Recovery from Homelessness Program provides forty-five individuals with short-term transitional housing, a health clinic, health screenings, mental health services, meals, clothing, transportation, case management, transportation, education, training, and employment assistance.

Individuals that need housing must be evaluated and agree to attend all day-time educational classes and take part in the Job Club. These classes allow individuals to work on the skills they need to be able to get back on their feet and support themselves. Once an individual gets a job they can retain their residency so that they may have time to accumulate funds to acquire a permanent and stable home.

Residents may be seen by a registered nurse or nurse practitioner by appointment or on an emergency basis if necessary. The Health and Wellness Clinic at First Day is an affiliate of the Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier and can refer uninsured First Day residents to the hospital and clinics associated with the hospital (such as the hospital Family Practice Clinic) at no charge to the residents or to the First Day program.

The residents of First Day are also provided social services. The Social Services Program evaluates each person's needs and helps to guide them through the path they need to take in order to meet those needs.

First Day works to not only help the homeless become self-sufficient, but also works to make them a part of the community. The organization reaches out to the community to educate people of their mission and to show people that the homeless have the same potential as everyone else.

Homelessness does not define a person. What defines a person is how they deal with the obstacles that come their way. First Day helps people rediscover who they are and the motivational drive they need to escape their homelessness and lead happy/successful lives.

Killing Animals Is Just As Bad As Killing People

Thursday twenty-five cats had been found bludgeoned to death. Whoever it was that killed the cats placed all of them in plastic bags and hung them up in trees. The incident took place in Yonkers, New York. In the area there had been recent tensions about feral cats in the areas. Some of the residents felt that they should be kind to the animals and built feeding stations for the cats. Not all residents were okay with the feeding stations because it attracted more cats to the area which they found bothersome.

Whoever killed these cats had no good reason to do so in my opinion. Even if residents found the cats bothersome that does not give any of them the right to kill them. Animals are not meaningless objects like some people think. They are living creatures and like humans can feel emotional and physical pain. No life is invaluable. Not even an animal's.

Animal cruelty is a crime in the United States. The mistreatment of animals not only leads to the deaths of domestic pets but also results in the endangerment of wildlife. As humans have progressed they came to realize that harsh actions towards animals both domesticated and wild, were unnecessary and cruel.

The rules also came into play when a link between animal cruelty and human assault/murder. I myself can see how there is a link between the acts. In my opinion if you are willing to cause harm/kill an animal for no apparent reason then you can do the same to a human being. Why? Because they are both living creatures.

Yes, humans have to hunt in order to get the protein they need and sometimes animals have to be killed if they go rabid or something. But can you imagine someone shooting a two-month old puppy for barking? Or lighting a cat on fire just for fun? People who can do these things may very well be deranged.

Even though the ASPCA helps the animals they come across they are unable to help save all of them. Part of that is due to the refusal of others to acknowledge something bad is happening around them. They may see a dog that is nothing but skin and bones, then look the other way. They may hear a group of teenagers laughing about how they blew up a cat, and not say anything.

When you see the commercial for the ASPCA on television most of you probably claim to change the channel because its too sad. But I think you do so because you know that you are not doing anything about it. Why is that? Do you think there is nothing that you can do? Because there is plenty that you can do. And if you truly care you would find out what you can do.

If you ever witness/hear about animal cruelty do not ignore it. Do something. Help stop animal cruelty. Know who to call to report animal cruelty, join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade to stay in tune with the laws being made and putting in your input on how the subject is being taken care of, support local animal shelter/animal rescues organization, look out for the animals around you, and educate other, especially kids to be kind to animals.

Take a stand for all the innocent animals that have no clue as to why they are being beaten and starved. Unlike us they do not have a voice.

.

It's Called Bringing Awareness To Autism, Not Taking Pity

At the Autism Walk today I spotted two people protesting against the event claiming that it was a "hate group". I did not understand how anybody could view the event as something hateful. Later I went through articles about other walks across the country and found that some of them have also had protestors saying the same thing. These protestors have claimed that Autism Speaks depicts those with autism as victims of tragedy. If they had actually taken the time to invest in researching the organization and its mission and the people who benefit from it they would see that Autism Speaks is not meant to bring attention to those with autism so that they can pity them.

Autism Speaks does not view autism as a tragedy. The organization encourages all of us to embrace, love, and accept those who have autism and see them as inspirational beings. For years I have taken part of the Autism Walk as both a walker and a volunteer. I have also done research on what they have done for autism and how they perceive it.

The organization views autism as not only a hurdle but also as something that makes a person creative and unique. Of course they bring attention to the fact that some people with autism and their families have faced difficult obstacles but they do not have the intention of making people pity them. What they want is to bring awareness to how the disorder's severity ranges and how that can determine what benefits each individual's needs. Some people with autism are higher functioning, some have more difficulty learning, others may have bipolar disorder/ADD/ADHD as well as autism. Bringing awareness to the different ways autism affects people will not only help to decide what type of service they need but will also educate people of the sign's so that if they may have a child that seems to fit one of the categories they can look to see if there is indeed a diagnosis.

The Autism Walk is an event filled with celebration of the obstacles that those with autism and their families have overcome. The money raised goes into research and services that will help provide the assistance these people need in order to achieve their full potential. Just because some people struggle in some areas more than others does not mean they are any less of a person, and that is something Autism Speaks emphasizes on. We are all different in our own special ways. Whether we are disabled, poor, rich, street smart, or book smart we are all equally important.

Bringing Awareness to Autism

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1 in 68 children have some form of autism. Autism is more common in boys than girls. It has been estimated that 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism and 1 in 42 boys are diagnosed. Over 2 million individuals in the U.S. have autism and tens of millions worldwide. The diagnosis of the disorder has increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years and although there is no solid explanation for this most think the increase of the diagnosis is due to improved ability to diagnose the disorder and environmental influences.

Those who have autism struggle with social challenges, communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors, sensory processing problems, and some medical conditions (seizure disorders/sleep dysfunction).

Although more people are becoming aware of the disorder there are still many people who are quick to assume that someone with autism just behaves poorly because they were not raised properly. Yes, it may be difficult to determine whether or not somebody has autism by just looking at them but it is not okay to judge people for the way they conduct themselves socially. It is better to just accept that others are different and move on.

Different does not necessarily mean bad. Those with autism may have difficulty with certain aspects of their life but many of them are joyful people that can see things that "normal" people can't. The smallest things that most of us take for granted is something that can easily put a smile on their face.

My brother, Christian, has autism and when my family first found out it seemed like the end of the world. Now we have come to realize that it was a blessing in disguise. Sure we have are struggles but Christian reminds us that we are all capable of achieving our goals. No matter how many times we have the school district tell us that Christian is incapable of expanding his knowledge he always finds a way to prove them wrong. Sometimes I will walk in on my brother trying to understand math and reading a book/captions off of the television. He knows that his brain works at a slower pace and is determined to learn as much as he can.

Tomorrow I will be attending the Autism Walk at the Rose Bowl. I will not only be walking for my brother, but all those who have autism. I will walk for all the families that have done all they can for their autistic family member even if it meant making some huge sacrifices. I will walk for all the educators that truly invest their time in assuring that they help students learn and never give up on them and claim they have capped out. I will walk to raise awareness with hopes that one day everyone will not judge an autistic person having behaviors.