Resources

Resources for Teens and Young Adults

Teens and young adults can be exposed to many types of domestic, school and community violence including bullying and teen dating violence. Below are resources aimed at teens and young adults to help them understand and heal from exposure to violence.

Online Resources About Exposure to Violence for Teens and Young Adults

Create a Teen Safety Plan
startstrongteens.org

Love Doesn't Have to Hurt Teens
American Psychological Association

Online Privacy & Safety Tips
National Network to End Domestic Violence

Recognizing Teen Dating Abuse
Family Violence Prevention Fund

Relationship Quiz
td411.org

Student Council Toolkit: Dating Abuse Facts and Campaign Ideas for your School
loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline

TD411 (Teen Dating Violence App)
This app brings awareness about teen dating violence & electronic victimization, providing information about how to avoid abuse and how to find help when it's needed.

Teen Action Toolkit: Building a Youth-led Response to Teen Victimization
Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice, 2007

What You Need to Know About Dating Violence: A Teen's Handbook
National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline and Liz Claiborne, Inc., 2008

National Bullying Prevention Center: Teens Against Bullying
Pacer Center

Websites About Healthy Relationships and Resilience for Teens

FosterClub
FosterClub is the national network for young people in foster care. FosterClub helps open the way for these young people to transform their lives by providing a forum to raise their voice, engage with peers and regain control over their situation through support, skill building, and healing opportunities.

It Gets Better
The It Gets Better project focuses on LGBT youth. Positive videos, messages and resources aim to encourage teens that life gets better. The site also offers routes for assistance, including The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and The Trevor Project.

Loveisrespect.org
The mission of this website, a collaboration between Break the Cycle and the National Dating Abuse Helpline, is to build more healthy relationships and save lives among teens and young adults. The website is designed to foster healthy dating attitudes and relationships, provide a safe space for young people to access information and help in an environment that is designed specifically for them, and ensure confidentiality and trust so young people feel safe and supported—online and off.

Startstrongteens.org
StartStrongteens.org provides resources to empower 11 – 14 year-olds to support safe and healthy relationships throughout their lives and to promote prevention activities at the community level to and end teen dating violence and abuse. Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships (Start Strong) initiative is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with Futures Without Violence.

Stopbullying.gov
StopBullying.gov provides information on what bullying is, information about cyberbullying, who is at risk, what to do if you are bullied, and how you can get involved.

That's Not Cool.com
That's Not Cool provides information on dating and digital issues and inspires teens to take action to prevent teen dating abuse in their own communities. That's Not Cool aims to build a community of teens, provide tools for teens to "draw their own digital line" and offers a forum to discuss relationships and seek help.

Books About Coping with Violence and Trauma for Teens and Young Adults

Autobiography of My Dead Brother
Walter Dean Myers, 2005
Available from HarperCollins; Toll-free: 1-800-242-7737; www.harpercollins.com.
Fifteen-year-old Jessie uses his sketchbook to make sense of the violence and loss he experiences in his neighborhood.

Breathing Underwater
Alex Flinn, 2001
Available from bookstores.
Sixteen year-old Nick keeps a journal in which he examines his controlling behavior toward his girlfriend, and describes living with his abusive father.

The Kids' Guide to Working Out Conflicts: How to Keep Cool, Stay Safe, and Get Along
Naomi Drew
Available from Boys Town Press; Toll-free: 1-800-282-6657; www.boystownpress.org.
This book describes the reasons behind common kinds of conflicts and a plan for finding positive ways to behave in difficult circumstances. Includes tips for countering bullying, letting go of anger, and eliminating hurtful language.

The Rules of Survival
Nancy Werlin, 2006
Available from Penguin Books; www.us.penguingroup.com.
Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts to free himself and his sisters from their abusive mother with the help of an adult friend.