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"We need a nation of educated adults to know and watch for signs of sexual abuse so all children in our families, neighborhoods, and communities will be safer."

E-News SEPTEMBER 2008

Stop It Now! Minnesota Staff Change   As many of you know, Yvonne Cournoyer has steped down and I, Justin Morgan Parmett, am the new program manager.  I have begun the process of reaching out to folks, and would like to continue to get to know all those that have been a part of making Stop It Now! Minnesota such a great success thus far.  I am not only new to the position, but am also new to the state.  I come here with a background in violence prevention work and an educational background in communications.  I have been working in Vermont where I recently coordinated a statewide youth violence prevention program.  I also have direct service experience working with men convicted of sexual assault.  In Vermont, I was a steering committee member of the states Anti-Violence Partnership and was on the Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force for the state.  I am honored and excited about the work and I look forward to working with all of you. please feel free to contact me at jparmett@projectpathfinder.org.

Bystander Research Study Continues: Volunteers are Needed for Interviews    Through a grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women, Stop It Now! Minnesota is in the process of interviewing family members of adults who have abused a child in the home.  The goal of this study is to understand what prevents or makes it difficult for family members to recognize signs of abuse and/or intervene before abuse has occurred.  Our goal is to interview 30 individuals and we are not quite there yet.  We only have until the end of September to conduct the interviews and are looking for people that are either willing to be interviewed themselves or know someone that is an appropriate candidate to be interviewed.  This project, once completed, will enable us to continue to ensure that our primary prevention efforts are as effective as possible.  To find out if you or others you know would be an appropriate candidate for an interview click the bellow link:   Research Study

Charities In Action Golf Event a Big Success   Last month a local non-profit organization, Charities In Action, held  their annual golf event to raise money for Project Pathfinder, Inc.  The event raised more than $10,000 to benefit Stop It Now! Minnesota and the Child and Adolescent Services Program.  The event was a  success for Project Pathfinder and its programs working to keep kids safe from sexual abuse.  The event included a great day of golf for 60 participants followed by a reception, dinner and silent auction.  There was a mix of community members, staff and board members in attendance and we would like to especially thank all the volunteers and everyone at Charities In Action for all of their dedication and great work that went into putting on a successful event.

CDC funding - Collaborative Efforts to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse In 2002 Stop It Now! Minnesota was awarded three years of funding from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Violence and Injury Prevention to develop primary prevention strategies and services in Minnesota.  The funding was extended in 2005 and will conclude in 2008. In September Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of Project Pathfinder, Inc. and Justin Morgan Parmett, Program Manager for Stop It Now! Minnesota returned  to Atlanta for a final presentation to CDC staff which included presentations from programs in Massachusetts and Georgia as well.  The presentations summarized collaborative efforts, results of Random Digit Surveys, primary research with those at risk to commit sexual abuse, as well as significant accomplishments.  .     As many of you know, the 6 years of funding form CDC was a cornerstone source of funding that made it possible for Stop It Now! Minnesota to provide unique research, new prevention resources, and effective and professional services for communities throughout Minnesota.   We have valued the contribution that the CDC has made to primary prevention and are grateful for all that we have gained from this collaboration.  As this project with the CDC comes to an end, Stop It Now! Minnesota is committed to continuing the ground breaking primary prevention strategies to prevent child sexual abuse and is working to create lasting and sustainable funding plans for the future.

Working with Youth Serving Organizations:  St. Paul Parks and Recreation Pilot Project  Stop It Now! Minnesota is in the final stages of a pilot project with St. Paul Parks and Recreation to ensure that they are doing all that they can to protect the youth they serve from sexual assualt.  With funding from the St. Paul and Mardag Foundations, a pilot project was launced about one year ago to assess the policies and practices of St. Pauls Park and Recreation Department.  The good news is that it was clear from the begining that they have been doing a lot of great work to protect the children of St. Paul.  Stop It Now! Minnesota was given the chance to look over all of the departments policies and practices around hiring staff and volunteers and was able to make suggestions and additions to what was already being done.    The parks and rec teams have all been trained are in the process of implementing new procedures that will enhance the safety of all youth that are served by the department.  In all aspects of this project, it has been extremely successful and has been great to see the parks and rec department taking a stand committing themselves to being fully educated, aware and action oriented to prevent child sexual abuse before any child is harmed.  On a positive note, as this project is wrapping up, Stop It Now! Minnesota is now in a position to provide consultation to other youth serving organizations to ensure that all is being done to prevent child sexual abuse.  If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about this project or how your organization can work with Stop It Now! Minnesota, please contact Justin Morgan Parmett at jparmett@projectpathfinder.org or call at 651-644-8515.

We Value our Partnerships

One of Stop It Now! Minnesota's guiding principles is collaboration. As a very small program serving a very large state, we work closely with partners at the community level in many different ways. This month, we are highlighting three diverse partnerships. If you are interested in discussing a partnership or collaborations with Stop It Now! Minnesota, please contact Justin Morgan Parmett, Program Manager, at 651-644-85152878 or jparmett@projectpathfinder.org. 

New Resources Available
Stop It Now! Minnesota has some new and improved resources. Our most popular booklet, Do Children Sexually Abuse Other Children?, has been revised and expanded.  It now differentiates between developmentally expected sexual behaviors in pre-pubescent and post-pubescent school-age children and includes information on sexually harmful behaviors, child pornography, why children often don't tell, and more details on how to protect children.  To download a copy, click here.  To request a printed copy, send an e-mail to kweber@projectpathfinder.org. 

We also have developed a self assessment, 12 Questions Only You Can Answer: A private questionnaire for adults wondering about their own thoughts or behaviors.  To download a copy, click here.  We are also developing a brochure version for waiting rooms, literature racks, etc.  If you are interested in receiving copies of this when it is available, please contact kweber@projectpathfinder.org.

Web Updates
Check it out.  In addition to the new resources described above, our website now has information on What Is Treatment? including answers to Frequently Asked Questions about treatment and a list of treatment providers including links to their websites where applicable.  We provide this so people who are not able to or are afraid to call the safe and confidential 1.888.PREVENT Helpline have additional options for finding help. 

Web site Survey
Please take a minute and provide valuable feedback on our website. 

How You Can Help
Consider joining other individuals (from well known folks like Meg Tilly to a supporter who made an anonymous $600.00 gift through the United Way to a friend who shared his gambling winnings with us) by making a donation to continue the work of Stop It Now! Minnesota.   

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