INDIANAPOLIS — Stories and reports of domestic violence are on the rise in central Indiana.
That's why the Domestic Violence Network, located in Indianapolis, is taking its mission into schools. The organization hosts an educational program for middle and high school students. It's called the Change Project. Its mission is to teach students about healthy relationships and to change the culture that leads to domestic violence in Hoosier homes.
The four-part program includes topics like kindness, types of abuse, communication and consent, and being an "upstander."
Seventh graders at IPS Daniel Webster School 46 just completed all four session of the Change Project.
That includes seventh-grader Myra Gipson.
"It can help you on what toxic relationships are, or if you are in one or not," Gipson said. "It can help you understand what you are going through."
Gipson's classmate Wilson Cox also went through the program.
"There were people who already knew about this stuff," Cox said, "and those students who already knew about it could tell and teach the other students about it."
Cox said it can be uncomfortable to have difficult conversations, but he appreciates being able to go through the program with his friends.
"I want to know all the types of abuse, so I can tell other people what it's like," Cox said.
"It was actually really fun and interesting," Taylor Carroll said.
Fellow classmate Nalaya Clauss agreed, saying it is important to know when young people are being abused.
"I would want them to know that it's really important to go through the program because it teaches you a lot about relationships, and it helps you stay out of a toxic relationship," Clauss said.
Jala Powell is a youth program coordinator for Domestic Violence Network. She is a former teacher who now works in classrooms across central Indiana educating students on the signs of domestic violence.
"For me, life comes full circle," Powell said.
The students say they appreciate Powell, her team and the curriculum.
"Thank you, a lot, for everything that you've taught us," Gipson said.
"Thank you for teaching me and telling me what to look for in a relationship," Clauss said.