1
00:00:02,133 --> 00:00:03,466
Hi there. My name is Bree,

2
00:00:03,466 --> 00:00:10,532
and I am here to talk about my final capstone and present it to you.

3
00:00:10,533 --> 00:00:14,199
So, a little bit about me: I am a multi-disciplinary studies major

4
00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,166
with an emphasis in leadership and conflict management. 

5
00:00:17,166 --> 00:00:19,766
I do have a background in early childhood education.

6
00:00:19,766 --> 00:00:25,666
I'm originally from Cleveland. I studied at Cleveland State University

7
00:00:25,666 --> 00:00:28,666
for three and a half years, studying early childhood education, 

8
00:00:28,666 --> 00:00:30,799
before I decided to move to Idaho 

9
00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,400
and finish my degree in multidisciplinary studies.

10
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,600
A little after college, the plan right now is to work

11
00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,566
in some sort of social services setting. I want to work with the public.

12
00:00:41,566 --> 00:00:45,299
I just haven't decided quite the direction I want to go. 

13
00:00:45,300 --> 00:00:48,066
But I think my capstone has opened my eyes

14
00:00:48,066 --> 00:00:52,066
to more of the direction that I want to take.

15
00:00:52,066 --> 00:00:53,499
So, my problem.

16
00:00:53,500 --> 00:00:58,800
The problem that I wrote at the beginning of these 14 weeks, were: 

17
00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,866
how can we better support men, women, and children 

18
00:01:01,866 --> 00:01:04,366
that have fallen victim to domestic abuse?

19
00:01:04,366 --> 00:01:08,732
And how to stop the cycles of abuse from continuing to occur?

20
00:01:08,733 --> 00:01:13,433
And I did write an either/or statement. I wrote: 

21
00:01:13,433 --> 00:01:19,833
“Either we can donate time to community centers, like Faces of Hope in Boise,

22
00:01:19,833 --> 00:01:22,366
“to work towards protecting women and children 

23
00:01:22,366 --> 00:01:25,632
“that have been sexually assaulted, or we can research more

24
00:01:25,633 --> 00:01:29,299
“about why these crimes and/or acts of violence are committed 

25
00:01:29,300 --> 00:01:32,066
by men, and sometimes women, in the first place.”

26
00:01:32,066 --> 00:01:34,432
So, a little bit of my research. 

27
00:01:34,433 --> 00:01:38,133
85% of abusers are men, and abuse normally takes place 

28
00:01:38,133 --> 00:01:42,499
in long-term and committed relationships or families.

29
00:01:42,500 --> 00:01:46,266
15 million children a year will experience abuse in some form, 

30
00:01:46,266 --> 00:01:49,832
and one-third of women will experience abuse in their lifetime.

31
00:01:49,833 --> 00:01:54,933
Children that experience abuse are more likely to be abusers later in life.

32
00:01:54,933 --> 00:01:59,066
And then, of course, the stakeholders in my project are the victims, 

33
00:01:59,066 --> 00:02:04,032
the children, the abusers themselves, my professors that are watching right now,

34
00:02:04,033 --> 00:02:08,466
the community, and then myself.

35
00:02:08,466 --> 00:02:12,832
The approach that I took based off of my question, my either/or statement,

36
00:02:12,833 --> 00:02:16,699
and my beginning research was the service learning approach. 

37
00:02:16,700 --> 00:02:20,166
I really thought it would be beneficial to go into an organization 

38
00:02:20,166 --> 00:02:25,232
that was really doing the work and that I wanted to experience firsthand.

39
00:02:25,233 --> 00:02:27,599
So I went to Faces of Hope in Boise, 

40
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,200
and I met with the program director, Rebecca.

41
00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,633
I also conducted an interview with a domestic abuse survivor 

42
00:02:33,633 --> 00:02:38,433
to see her point of view on what happened in the relationship, 

43
00:02:38,433 --> 00:02:41,299
and also what she needed when she got out. 

44
00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:45,066
And then finally, I researched the problem throughout these last 14 weeks 

45
00:02:45,066 --> 00:02:47,499
to try and find supporting information, 

46
00:02:47,500 --> 00:02:54,900
from what I was getting in the real world versus what research had to say.

47
00:02:54,900 --> 00:03:00,633
So my results, they're pretty straightforward, 

48
00:03:00,633 --> 00:03:04,099
but they also took a couple twists and turns along the way. 

49
00:03:04,100 --> 00:03:09,100
As a whole, we need better resources in place for victims. 

50
00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:12,200
This means, first, public housing.

51
00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,266
This was a huge eye-opener.

52
00:03:15,266 --> 00:03:18,932
When I went to Faces of Hope and I asked Rebecca 

53
00:03:18,933 --> 00:03:22,866
what the number one resources that women and men need 

54
00:03:22,866 --> 00:03:26,466
after they flee a situation, and without even missing a beat, 

55
00:03:26,466 --> 00:03:28,499
she said, “Housing.”

56
00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:30,700
And I thought to myself, “Why?”

57
00:03:30,700 --> 00:03:34,333
But as I looked more into it, if we think about it, 

58
00:03:34,333 --> 00:03:39,899
the the prices of homes in the Valley are skyrocketing. 

59
00:03:39,900 --> 00:03:46,900
And if a woman is leaving her situation with nothing but the clothes 

60
00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:49,333
that are on her back, how do we expect her

61
00:03:49,333 --> 00:03:53,233
to move in and pay rent that starts at $1,200 a month?

62
00:03:53,233 --> 00:03:57,866
So, that is first what we need to start implementing, 

63
00:03:57,866 --> 00:04:03,099
is some sort of public housing that these people can stay at 

64
00:04:03,100 --> 00:04:08,366
for a limited amount of time, so that they're not stuck on the streets.

65
00:04:08,366 --> 00:04:13,232
Because homelessness is a huge issue, and it's growing daily.

66
00:04:13,233 --> 00:04:17,766
Also, the communities need to give back to the organizations. 

67
00:04:17,766 --> 00:04:23,332
They can use food, toiletries, clothing, money, donations, time. 

68
00:04:23,333 --> 00:04:27,366
They can really use a lot of these resources

69
00:04:27,366 --> 00:04:30,732
that us as the community can provide, 

70
00:04:30,733 --> 00:04:33,233
and they're just not receiving enough of that right now.

71
00:04:33,233 --> 00:04:35,533
And there are only so many of them, 

72
00:04:35,533 --> 00:04:39,566
and only so many resources that they have to give to these victims, 

73
00:04:39,566 --> 00:04:45,466
that it just doesn't leave a lot of room for the gap.

74
00:04:45,466 --> 00:04:49,266
Also, learning the signs of abuse is super important. 

75
00:04:49,266 --> 00:04:52,132
It doesn't always just show up in a scrape or a bump.

76
00:04:52,133 --> 00:04:54,833
It can be the person that's very angry, 

77
00:04:54,833 --> 00:04:59,066
the person that's struggling with mental health issues, 

78
00:04:59,066 --> 00:05:01,666
or someone that's just really detached. 

79
00:05:01,666 --> 00:05:07,332
And we need to break the stigma of women staying in these relationships. 

80
00:05:07,333 --> 00:05:13,033
The stay for financial reasons, trauma responses,

81
00:05:13,033 --> 00:05:16,966
just abuse in general holds a bigger threat

82
00:05:16,966 --> 00:05:20,966
on a woman and a man than we give them credit for.

83
00:05:20,966 --> 00:05:24,332
Also, we need to work on our school systems,

84
00:05:24,333 --> 00:05:30,633
and providing mental health awareness to those that are struggling.

85
00:05:30,633 --> 00:05:35,866
We know from research that children that are abused early in life are, later,

86
00:05:35,866 --> 00:05:38,532
more likely going to be abusers. 

87
00:05:38,533 --> 00:05:42,466
And this is because we're not providing them with the services that they need,

88
00:05:42,466 --> 00:05:44,999
when we know that they're going through this abuse.

89
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:50,900
So, really targeting that in the moment, when a child is still a child,

90
00:05:50,900 --> 00:05:53,300
before it's too late and it's out of our hands, 

91
00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:56,966
and then we wonder why these cycles continue to occur. 

92
00:05:56,966 --> 00:05:59,132
And finally, it's just awareness. 

93
00:05:59,133 --> 00:06:04,266
And that's what I hope you gain from this, is just awareness of the issue.

94
00:06:04,266 --> 00:06:05,866
And then, it's not just one-sided. 

95
00:06:05,866 --> 00:06:09,566
It's not just about the victim. It's not just about the abusers.

96
00:06:09,566 --> 00:06:13,166
It's about a culmination of everyone working together, 

97
00:06:13,166 --> 00:06:19,766
and it's a really, really big issue that still could use a ton of help. 

98
00:06:19,766 --> 00:06:22,999
My emotional intelligence plays a lot into this. 

99
00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,666
I have always been an empathetic person that cares about the needs of others, 

100
00:06:26,666 --> 00:06:29,566
and I really love to make an impact. 

101
00:06:29,566 --> 00:06:33,666
So, I think this was such a great project for me, and it was right up my alley.

102
00:06:33,666 --> 00:06:37,032
I was able to fulfill my need of helping others. 

103
00:06:37,033 --> 00:06:41,366
But also motivating, hopefully, from this project, 

104
00:06:41,366 --> 00:06:47,699
motivating others to want to do more and understand the issues, 

105
00:06:47,700 --> 00:06:51,133
and then, hopefully giving back in one way or another.

106
00:06:51,133 --> 00:06:55,766
And we all know someone that is a survivor of abuse in one way or another, 

107
00:06:55,766 --> 00:07:00,832
and we just don't want to see these cycles continuing to happen.

108
00:07:00,833 --> 00:07:02,999
My creative thinking throughout this process was 

109
00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,466
that I'd really try not to throw away any possible solution along the way. 

110
00:07:07,466 --> 00:07:11,166
I wanted to accept all of the twists and turns that came along,

111
00:07:11,166 --> 00:07:14,166
and a huge one was the housing crisis.

112
00:07:14,166 --> 00:07:17,832
And I really tried to dig into that as much as I could, 

113
00:07:17,833 --> 00:07:20,466
and learn as much as I could about the housing crisis

114
00:07:20,466 --> 00:07:25,899
and how it affects these disadvantaged victims from the start. 

115
00:07:25,900 --> 00:07:29,033
And I tried to think about it from all perspectives.

116
00:07:29,033 --> 00:07:33,233
Not just the victims’, not just the abusers’, but the organizations’, 

117
00:07:33,233 --> 00:07:35,966
and how they are only left with so many resources, 

118
00:07:35,966 --> 00:07:38,132
that they just need more help.

119
00:07:38,133 --> 00:07:39,733
And also, the community.

120
00:07:39,733 --> 00:07:46,033
How can the community give back to everyone involved to make this community 

121
00:07:46,033 --> 00:07:50,199
and City of Boise a stronger and better place to live?

122
00:07:50,200 --> 00:08:01,433
I tried to, as I said, use a diverse selection of perspectives in my project,

123
00:08:01,433 --> 00:08:06,666
and I also came to the understanding that this is not a black-and-white issue.

124
00:08:06,666 --> 00:08:09,966
It's always going to be changing. It's always going to be fluid.

125
00:08:09,966 --> 00:08:13,899
No abuser looks the same. No victim looks the same.

126
00:08:13,900 --> 00:08:17,000
And so, we have to treat everyone accordingly. 

127
00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,433
And the first step to that is just bringing awareness to this issue as a whole,

128
00:08:21,433 --> 00:08:24,899
and I hope I was able to do that.

129
00:08:24,900 --> 00:08:29,600
Overall, my project talks about the problem itself,

130
00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,233
and then ways that I think we need to support

131
00:08:32,233 --> 00:08:35,366
these women and children and men,

132
00:08:35,366 --> 00:08:37,632
and then how to end these cycles of abuse.

133
00:08:37,633 --> 00:08:39,766
And I took the service learning option,

134
00:08:39,766 --> 00:08:45,566
which allowed me to go downtown and work with Faces of Hope in Boise,

135
00:08:45,566 --> 00:08:48,999
and interview one of the abusers.

136
00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,066
And then I shared my results,

137
00:08:51,066 --> 00:08:55,599
and how they tie into my own motivations and beliefs.

138
00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:57,433
These are my references.

139
00:08:57,433 --> 00:09:02,933
And then, I did include just one slide of how you can get involved

140
00:09:02,933 --> 00:09:05,333
and donate to any of these organizations

141
00:09:05,333 --> 00:09:07,433
that are all very close to my heart.

142
00:09:07,433 --> 00:09:09,266
Thank you so much for watching.