Greeting Mr. Beaman!

My name is April Jenkins and I am with My Voice, My Choice! We have organized a
program for youth that I am very excited to bring back to my community and
surrounding areas. My Voice, My Choice is comprised of several seminars that empower
youth to respond to teen victimization and move them to action to create social
change.  My Voice, My Choice addresses bullying, autonomy over your own body,
healthy decisions making skills and training for youth leaders to be peer advocates
for themselves as well as their fellow students.
 
Teens and  young adults are victimized by crime more than any other age group, yet
they are under-served by both community agencies and the justice system (Bureau of
Justice Statistics, Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2005). As seen by
the Penn State accusations of child sexual abuse, the victimization can happen over
years and often the crimes are not reported. Over 300,000 children are abused in the
United States each year. Approximately one in three adult women and one in six men
were sexually abused as children. Some researchers estimate even higher numbers for
women. The effects, scientifically documented, are cyclical, chronic, debilitating,
and sometimes fatal. Suicide attempts, depression, sexually transmitted diseases,
self-mutilation, substance abuse, recurrent victimization, eating disorders, sleep
disorders, gastrointestinal illness, abusive sexual and intimate relationships,
increased risk of imprisonment, increased
 likelihood to be involved with sex work: these are some of the outcomes of denied,
unaddressed child sexual abuse.
 
My Voice, My Choice was created to educate, empower and teach youth and young adults
how to advocate for themselves in all areas and possibly prevent the victimization
from occurring. My Voice My Choice is based on a model of youth working in
partnership with adults. Adults provide facilitation and connections with the
community and the youth take leadership in the program. The program is most
affective with school based teams, churches and community organizations. Being
entrusted with leadership responsibilities increases there knowledge, skills,
self-esteem and resilience. Youth leadership also has lasting affects on the
community when they are actively involved in the implementation of solutions and
their voice is heard.
 
I have a Bachelor's of Art in Sociology from Huston-Tillotson University, a Master's
of Social Work from North Carolina State University and I am currently working on my
Doctorate of Education in Urban Educational Leadership at Morgan State University. I
have a mixed background in education as well as in the social services field.  My
experience in teen dating, intimate partner violence and sexual assault has spanned
over 15 years in conjunction with SafePlace, which is the merger between the Rape
Crisis Center and the Center for Battered Women located in Austin, TX, Interact
of Wake County in Raleigh, NC and The Women's Center in Durham, NC located on North
Carolina Central University's campus. I have been featured in the Independent
Weekly sharing my story as a sexual assault survivor of an on campus rape.  In April
2010 I was a speaker in conjunction with Interact of Wake County on UNC TV's Black
Issues Forum concerning sexual
 assault and domestic violence in the African American community. I have also been
the keynote speaker at Meredith College during Sexual Assault Awareness Month on
several occasions and at Campbell University concerning victimology in the justice
system.  I have had the unique opportunity to speak publicly as both a survivor of
sexual assault as well as working from the position of counselor empowering women,
men and children experiencing victimization. I am very equipped to meet the needs
of the students and shape leaders in the process.
 
I would like the opportunity to sit down with you and your staff to discuss the
implementation of this program in your community. I have included my contact
information below and also weblinks to work I have done in the past. Thank you for
your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

April Y. Jenkins, MSW
My Voice, My Choice!
919.791.9650
ayjenkins@ymail.com
 
No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to
grow--Alice Walker
 
 
 
 
 
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