February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, and Arrowhead’s Girl Up club is joining this initiative to raise awareness and share helpline information.

Girl Up is expanding girls’ skills, rights, and opportunities to lead and aim to change the face of leadership for generations to come. To join this club at Arrowhead, there are two events per semester that require attendance. Some events are held during monthly meetings; others are held after school, in the evenings, and on weekends.

“Arrowhead is doing this to promote healthy relationships for the simple answer and to get the conversation started because so often the people in these relationships don’t come forwards because they don’t know how or are embarrassed. So we want to help those people come forward,” says Jennifer Passler, an AHS English teacher and the advisor of Girl Up at Arrowhead High School.

The club is working on sharing information and asking for help to raise awareness with videos like #ThatsNotLove, TDV Awareness Flyers around the school building and slides/visuals to incorporate into daily announcements. 

“The posters have help line information on the posters so we are going to be putting them in hallways and in bathroom stalls so people can privately call these numbers and go to these websites to ask for help,” says Passler.

Ela Albrecht, a senior involved with the Girl Up club says, “I think if someone is going through this they feel alone, but by seeing these posters it gives them a solution, and they know help is close, and they can confide in any teacher at school.” 

The club is trying to spread awareness how victims of abuse should never be ashamed to ask for help. Here are resources:

• The National 24/7 Crisis Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
• National Teen Dating Violence Helpline: 1-866-331-9474
• Seek help from https://www.loveisrespect.org/

“The posters and hotline give those affected a sense of hope. They know they are not alone and know they have someone to talk to,” says Albrecht. 

Information about spreading the awareness will be released to teachers to bring up in the classroom next week (January 29th through February 2nd).