TOPEKA Courtney Train spends her days going to nail salons, the pool and the dog park.
As a paid mentor and advocate for children ages 8 to 18 whove seen domestic violence at home or experienced it while dating, Train knows quality time and fun with a trusted adult can be in short supply for her clients.
So, she talks to them about safer sex. She analyzes media portrayals of relationships. Shes also taken them to the zoo, on college visits and to a county fair art competition.
The idea of childhood is stolen from them, Train said. For them to just play, not have to think about adult issues, it’s really powerful.
Domestic violence centers across Kansas are often ill-equipped to serve the needs of older children and teens, instead focusing on shelter for adult survivors and the young children they bring with them.
It’s easy for us to think, Oh, teens aren’t an issue, Train said. It does not seem like there’s a lot of information and support out there.
But thanks to a pilot project, Train, based in Salina, is one of six mentors at five domestic violence organizations across Kansas who have worked with older children and teenagers over the past two years.
Funded by a federal grant and coordinated by the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, the Empowered Families Kansas Project is trying to fill that gap in Salina, Newton, Iola, Pittsburg and Garden City.
The coalition said results from the first two years are hard to quantify, but look to be promising. It plans to expand the pilot to cover more of the state over the next year.
The mentors, like Train, help connect children with therapists. Older children receive guidance on career paths. That kind of long-term, individual attention is rare.
Our services are crisis-oriented, said Kathy Ray, director of advocacy education and rural projects at the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. But its often short term.
In surveys, kids involved in the program and their parents say theyve seen an improvement in grades, emotional control and communication between family members.
Rebuilding trust in adults is crucial, Ray said, because it helps children trust their parents again.
Those relationships have often been undermined by the batterer, by the abuser, she said. So it’s helping to rebuild that communication and relationship with the non-abusive parent.
Train has mentored about 15 children since she started her role in December 2017. She said shes taught them to give compliments, play games and trust family again.
