Date

12-2020

Document Type

Capstone Project (Open Access)

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Department

Health, Human Services and Public Policy

Major

Collaborative Health and Human Services

Abstract

The Epicenter is a resource center that serves LGBTQ, system affected, and at-risk youth in Monterey County. The problem being addressed is the misconceptions about healthy and unhealthy relationships among youth. Many young people fall into unhealthy relationships or behaviors due to not understanding the healthy characteristics of relationships. A contributing factor to unhealthy relationships is youth seeing examples of unhealthy relationships in their home. This leads them to practice or seek out similar unhealthy behaviors that they have witnessed. Unhealthy relationships harm a young person’s perception of relationships and the behaviors they will exhibit later in life. The consequences of unhealthy relationships include increased rates of mental health issues as well as unsafe sex practices. The capstone project is a presentation on healthy relationships. The presentation will discuss what healthy and unhealthy behaviors look like in all types of relationships. It will also encourage youth to evaluate the current behaviors they exhibit in relationships, practice healthy behaviors, and help people they believe may be in unhealthy relationships. The results of the presentation showed that all youth benefited from learning more about relationship behaviors. After the presentation, the participants understood the types of abuse, unhealthy behaviors in relationships, and recognized red flags. The participants learned where to reach out for help and stated they were more likely to speak up if they witnessed unhealthy behaviors or abuse. It is recommended that the presentation continues to be presented to youth in Monterey County as it is beneficial to educate youth on healthy relationships, give them a safe space where they can have discussions on relationships, and allows them to practice healthy behaviors.

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