Blog

By Lucy Del Gaudio, US Army Veteran – Veteran Advocate   2020 has been a hell of a year. A nation of vitriol has reared its ugly head and emotions have been all over the place.  We have been witness to one of the world’s deadliest pandemics, a culture filled with social injustices and anRead more

Statement on Continued Police Brutality & Racial Bias Incidents This is a follow-up statement to our May 29 social media communication. As anti-Black violence and civil/human rights violations continue in our streets, the need to dismantle systemic racism could not be more urgent and clear. It is the profound obligation of every one of us, especiallyRead more

College can be a very big and frightening place for some. For incoming freshman, it is the beginning of a new adventure outside the ever-watchful eye of parents and other caregivers. For some, it is a time to get to know the adult they are becoming. But what about sexual education? Does it stop afterRead more

The high school years for an adolescent are some of the most important years of their lives. These years are when a child begins to mature, to find themselves and become their own person. It also is a time where some may begin to experiment sexually and some may become sexually active. Most guardians mayRead more

As your child grows and changes, it’s important that the conversation surrounding the topics of consent and boundaries grows and changes too. From 4th to 8th grade, the conversation should shift to physical touch, consent, and sex. You might begin by talking to your child about physical touch. You should explicitly discuss the different typesRead more

After you talk to your child about the basics of consent and boundaries, it’s important to continue the conversation as they grow. For 2nd and 3rd graders, you can extend beyond the concepts of the body and physical touch and begin to teach consent in more abstract forms. At this age, you might begin byRead more

It might seem intimidating or scary to talk to your child about consent and sexual health; however, having these conversations with your child at a young age takes away stigma surrounding the topic of sex and private parts and creates a person who isn’t embarrassed to communicate with parents, trusted adults, and future partners aboutRead more

As I started to think of the YWCA’s Week Without Violence, I was trying to imagine what a world without violence would look like. While I was trying to imagine this world, I was distracted by the alerts coming through my phone… deaths from a bar shooting, a food delivery person shot while working, unexplainedRead more

Sexual violence against Indigenous and Native women in the US is a widespread epidemic and a horrifying reality for the daily lives of women from native communities. According to the National Institute of Justice, more than half of Native women have experienced sexual violence, and nearly 4 out of 5 Native women have experienced someRead more

Confidence is the best accessory any woman can wear. It’s what makes people feel attracted to you, want to be around you.  When you exude confidence you truly discover just how freeing it can be because if you don’t even see how great you really are then how are strangers meant too?! So what isRead more