In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (#SAAM), we are proud to bring a screening of the powerful documentary Audrie & Daisy to town.  This urgent real-life drama examines the ripple effects on families, friends, schools and communities when two young women find that sexual assault crimes against them have been caught on camera. This event is FREE and open to the public. Doors open at 5:30pm, and the film will screen at 6:00pm. Concessions will be […]

By Sam Boyce The Women’s March on Lansing was a beautiful experience. I had never been to a protest or rally of any sort before, and I’m so glad that this was the first rally I ever attended. The positive atmosphere and feeling of hope that wafted through the air was incredibly heartening in this time of great fear. With all of the changes that are being enacted that are putting human rights at risk, […]

On Saturday, January 21, millions came together for the Women’s March on Washington and sister marches throughout the country – and world. (We see you, Antartica march.) Those millions included us in YLAV! We headed to the sister march in Lansing, MI for a day of raising our voices with a few staff from our mentor organizations. The day was very inspiring and we learned a lot about how to speak up and speak out. After […]

As the school year wound down last year, a few YLAVers decided to share why this experience mattered to them. We figured now is a great time to share those videos, as we are looking for our next great group of students for the 2016-17 school year! (Application available here.) So, straight from their mouths. Here’s why being part of YLAV is awesome: “You learn so much, about yourself and what you’re passionate about. … […]

Did you know? Being part of YLAV can change your life. Yes, we are biased. But to prove our point, here are the top 10 reasons why you should consider joining Young Leaders Against Violence (now accepting applications for the 2016-17 school year!). YLAV looks great on a college application. Let’s be real… it can be hard to stand out in the college application process. But there aren’t a lot of organizations out there like YLAV. […]

This morning we were up and in business casual before breakfast, PowerPoint in hand, and headed to downtown Grand Rapids. Our destination? The Kent County Board of Commissioners meeting – where we were first on the agenda! In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we presented to the commissioners about sexual violence among teens. We shared local and national statistics, discussed how to treat victims (help them be heard, don’t dismiss them), and stressed the […]

You know who can be a hero? You. Seriously. We’ve got video evidence to prove it. YLAV is proud to present our video debut. With some grant money through the State of Michigan, the Kent County Sexual Assault Prevention Action Team (aka SAPAT) joined up with us YLAVers to produce a series of videos called You Don’t Have to Be a Superhero to be a Real Hero.  Look, we’re all bystanders. And there’s a responsibility that comes […]

Yep, we’ve got a reading assignment for you. But trust us, it’s an important one. Each year for Sexual Assault Awareness Month (aka #SAAM) the Kent County Sexual Assault Prevention Action Team puts together a newsletter. It’s a great way to read up on sexual assault and how we are fighting it locally. Click here to read the 2016 Sexual Assault Awareness Month newsletter. You can learn how preventing sexual violence IS possible. You might even […]

Sometimes, you simply have to say “no more.” No more violence. No more fear. No more. The NO MORE Campaign asks us to make that statement and put an end to domestic violence and sexual assault. Their NO MORE Week of Action is next week, March 6-12, and will include a really cool postcard initiative. We just made a YLAV postcard for the inititaive, and you can too! You just go to postcardssaynomore.com, upload an image, […]

We’re all about building awareness at YLAV – throughout the year, but especially right now, because it’s #teenDVmonth! Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is a national movement to make people aware that dating violence is more common than you might think. But, if we spread awareness we can stop violence before it starts. One thing we’re doing this month to build awareness (in addition to this awesome contest – have you entered yet?) is handing out “Love […]