Program helps vulnerable youth ID abusive relationships

Although CORA has its Youth Engagement and Advocacy program that works with students in middle and high school, the work with the Youth Services Center particularly targets a demographic that experiences much higher rates of violence at a younger age, Robin Jensen, manager of Prevention and Community Engagement, said. 

More than 30% of incarcerated youth have experienced adverse childhood experiences, including child abuse, family violence and community conflict, according to national research from Mental Health America. These experiences normalize neglect, aggression and unhealthy relationship models at a formative age.

CORA’s goal is to create space for self reflection and reeducation.

Once a week, Jensen, along with a youth educator and CORA clinician, go to the Youth Services Center and invite six adolescents to participate in an hourlong workshop where they commit to group agreements and work through their perceptions of healthy relationships. 

From identifying “green or red flags” in behavior to defining boundaries and consent, many youth participants are leaving the sessions with a better understanding that their version of “normalcy” may not be the healthiest, Jenson said. 

Youth are invited to “envision relationships built on mutual respect and emotional safety — many for the first time,” according to CORA. 

Kids have shared they feel like they have been given a second chance to treat others better, and that they actually did witness a lot of violence growing up. Some thought inter-partner violence was normal, Jenson said. 

“Those kinds of stories just spoke to the gap and the need, and that we need to stop that cycle of violence where it’s at and reset what young people are learning,” Jensen said. 

The program was piloted in October 2024 and, after some tweaks to the model they use at the high schools — smaller group sizes, more interactive workshops — Jensen said the impact is noticeable. Kids, after they leave the Youth Services Center, will recognize CORA and refer its work to friends, she said. 

The group agreements often include only one person speaking at a time, respect one another and don’t judge one another, Jensen said. 

“Not everyone agrees, but there’s no judgment,” Jensen said. “Instead there’s space to talk through those scenarios about what might be OK, what might not be OK.” 

These agreements are what make the workshops as successful as they’ve been, Jensen said. By the sixth week of meeting, the group has their own cadence, their own way of interacting with one another, and the youth ultimately end up leading the conversations.

“We know it’s working when that happens, when they provide peer support,” Jensen said. 

Without intervention, many of these kids may lose out on having conversations that they might not be having at home, Jensen said. CORA’s goal is to fill that gap.

“The more we can equip them with these tools, then they can know CORA is there, to call if you need it, but it also helps identify if they’re in a relationship that might be abusive,” Jensen said.