Other Resources

My Strength (www.mystrength.org) is geared towards young men at building strength through living a life based on equality, caring and respect. My Strength is a project of the California Department of Health Services and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), a statewide coalition of rape crisis centers and prevention programs founded in 1980. Their mission is to provide leadership, vision and resources for rape crisis centers, individuals and other entities committed to ending sexual violence.

Peace Over Violence (www.peaceoverviolence.org) is a non-profit, feminist, multi-cultural, volunteer organization dedicated to a building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. To achieve this mission our agency manages five departments delivering the services of Emergency, Intervention, Prevention, Education and Advocacy. The prevention services offer programs that teach how to deal with violence. One aspect is addressed through the self-defense program, concentrating on physical and mental skills for defending against violence. Another feature is In Touch With Teens, a program with many initiatives focusing on violence among youth, and supporting youth in making positive decisions about their lives and their futures. The Education Services provide community members with information about violence prevention. In Touch With Teens offers educational programs designed to furnish youth with the information and skills they need in order to recognize and prevent relationship violence and sexual assault. Our staff and trained volunteers participate in presentations, panel discussions, and media interviews, to educate the public about the realities of interpersonal violence.

Meditation Used During the SAFE through the Arts program:

With your eyes closed and your feet firmly planted in the ground, imagine that you are a tree. Picture yourself growing in a beautiful safe place-either somewhere you have visited or a place of your imagination. Take a deep breath, imagining that you are breathing in love, coming through the roots and up through the trunk of the tree. When you exhale, you breathe out love into the world through the tree’s branches (which are your arms). Now visualize a color that resonates deep within you and imagine that your breaths are shades of this color. Repeat this exercise several times, breathing deeper on each successive breath until you feel connected to the soul (the very essence) of your tree. When you feel connected to the center of your tree, hum a tone that seems to vibrate from your being. This is your centering tone, your personal vibration. You can use this exercise whenever you need to become connected to your true self and find your inner peace.