We are excited to introduce two new additions to the CAPSA board, Shauna Karren and Lindsay Kirby. These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and perspective that will greatly benefit our organization and contribute to our continued growth and success.
Shauna Karren is an experienced professional with a background in employee training and human resources. With over seven years at Utah State University and nearly 16 years at Conservice, she has a proven track record of building and leading successful programs. Her passion for providing resources to individuals who have experienced abuse, led to the formation of the CAPSA-Conservice partnership. Through this partnership we provide trainings to employees, have signage throughout their building, and are equipped to provide a confidential on-site response to support survivors. With a Bachelor’s degree in business management and a Master’s degree in instructional design, Shauna brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to the board.
Lindsay Kirby is a proud wife, mother, and dedicated community leader. With a background in the financial industry and her own business, Kirby Creative Accounting, she has a lot of experience and a commitment to giving back. She and her husband became home sponsors for CAPSA in memory of her father-in-law, who passed away from cancer in 2019. Lindsay is eager to continue serving the Cache Valley community through her involvement with CAPSA.
We are grateful for the support of our board members, who play a critical role in helping us to make a positive impact in the lives of those we serve. The work we do is life-changing and is made possible by this support and leadership.
Thank you Lindsay and Shauna, and welcome to CAPSA’s board!
CAPSA stands for Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse
In 1976, two high-profile rape cases occurred on Utah State University’s campus. This troubled many community members, and deciding to act, they created the Cache Valley Rape Crisis Team. The team was a hotline and calls were directed toward the University’s Women’s Center.
In 1979, Utah passed a spousal abuse act, which made domestic violence illegal. With this legislation, both the need and funding for domestic violence shelters increased. The response team changed its name to Citizens Against Physical & Sexual Abuse, and community members began housing individuals within their own homes.
From there CAPSA has grown into a 34-bed domestic violence shelter with caseworkers and a therapy program. We also have a housing program, child advocacy, and an education department dedicated to educating youth in hopes to prevent future violence. CAPSA is a team of some of the best people who have a passion for serving our community and helping people heal from abuse.
A few of our team members share what CAPSA means to them
Brenna, Children and Youth Services Manager
“CAPSA gives a sense of hope. I love coming to work every day knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of children and youth. Their voices deserve to be heard and are often overlooked. I am happy to build relationships with our young generation in hopes to set them up for success in every aspect of their life.”
Victoria, Diversity Caseworker
“I think CAPSA for me means a place of healing and hope no matter where you come from or your immigration status, everyone is welcome here to heal and move forward.”
Maddie, Community Engagement Coordinator
“To me, CAPSA represents a true sense of hope in the face of hardship. In a world where we’re all constantly inundated with horrifying headlines and shockingly sad stories, it’s really easy to start feeling overwhelmed and to wonder where to even begin helping everyone who needs it. It’s really nice to work at a place like CAPSA, where helping survivors of abuse is the sole focus, but a major emphasis is also placed on self-care. We know that taking care of ourselves is critical to doing the work we do as successfully as possible.”
https://www.capsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-26.jpeg8571286Bethany Baladyhttps://www.capsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/capsaLogo.pngBethany Balady2023-03-06 11:27:382023-05-26 11:50:32What Does CAPSA Stand For?
As our educators spend time teaching in schools, they see the direct impact of the lessons they’re teaching and how students are responding to them. A couple of our educators have shared some stories and experiences where they feel their efforts in teaching about healthy relationships is paying off.
Shellie, Education Director
“I love teaching Healthy Relationships! There is nothing better than having a moving discussion with youth where they are able to identify the behaviors that they themselves and those around them display. Teaching healthy relationships allows students to recognize how they can continue to have healthy behavior and to adjust behavior that could be potentially harmful. In teaching healthy relationships, we get the opportunity to prevent potential future victims, but also future perpetrators.
An experience I had many years ago still burns clearly in my mind. After teaching a class at a local school, one of the students I had interacted with over a number of presentations approached me to share that she was concerned that she had never been in love. I was aware that this student was in a committed relationship from previous comments she had made and I asked her why she felt that way. She told me that she and her boyfriend had never had a screaming and yelling fight that they needed to have a passionate make up after. This student didn’t have great examples of relationships at home, so she had turned to songs and movies that displayed “love” such as The Notebook, or the Taylor Swifts Song, The Way I Loved You, to define what love looked like. Media had set the expectation that these unhealthy behaviors were the goal to be reached in a relationship. This was a prime example of the need for healthy relationships curriculum to be taught for youth.”
Lindsey, Educator
“The healthy relationships curriculum is important because it, in my opinion, is one of the best foundational skills youth and everyone really can learn and grow into in order to feel safe, respected, have equal power and control in their relationships–which we know prevents violence. They learn to recognize warning signs of unhealthy relationships and the building blocks to a healthy relationship. Obviously, a person can know all of these skills and still unfortunately find themselves in unhealthy and abusive relationships, but hopefully they will be able to recognize when they are in it and the resources to help them get out of that relationship and that it isn’t their fault.
I really love seeing the “aha” moments when I teach healthy relationships because “love” is often portrayed as this toxic, unhealthy obsession and persistence with a person. We see it in movies and music and books, if nothing else, this curriculum helps them be more aware as they are interacting with others and in relationships with others.”
Ashley, Educator
“One reason teaching about healthy relationships is important is because most kids and youth are unfortunately surrounded by unhealthy relationships or relationship behaviors- whether this is at home, amongst peers, in the media, or all of the above. Abusive and unhealthy behaviors are too often normalized in our society. By letting kids know these behaviors are not “normal” and teaching them the characteristics of a healthy relationship we help them realize that they deserve a healthy relationship themselves. They are better able to recognize red flags and warning signs and to look for the characteristics that make up a healthy relationship. Healthy relationships then lead to less abuse and violence in our communities.”
https://www.capsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/kenny-eliason-zFSo6bnZJTw-unsplash-scaled.jpg15932560Bethany Baladyhttps://www.capsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/capsaLogo.pngBethany Balady2023-02-27 15:35:372023-05-26 11:58:10CAPSA Educators Share Stories of Why Healthy Relationships Curriculum is Important
Introducing Lindsay Kirby & Shauna Karren
We are excited to introduce two new additions to the CAPSA board, Shauna Karren and Lindsay Kirby. These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and perspective that will greatly benefit our organization and contribute to our continued growth and success.
Shauna Karren is an experienced professional with a background in employee training and human resources. With over seven years at Utah State University and nearly 16 years at Conservice, she has a proven track record of building and leading successful programs. Her passion for providing resources to individuals who have experienced abuse, led to the formation of the CAPSA-Conservice partnership. Through this partnership we provide trainings to employees, have signage throughout their building, and are equipped to provide a confidential on-site response to support survivors. With a Bachelor’s degree in business management and a Master’s degree in instructional design, Shauna brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to the board.
Lindsay Kirby is a proud wife, mother, and dedicated community leader. With a background in the financial industry and her own business, Kirby Creative Accounting, she has a lot of experience and a commitment to giving back. She and her husband became home sponsors for CAPSA in memory of her father-in-law, who passed away from cancer in 2019. Lindsay is eager to continue serving the Cache Valley community through her involvement with CAPSA.
We are grateful for the support of our board members, who play a critical role in helping us to make a positive impact in the lives of those we serve. The work we do is life-changing and is made possible by this support and leadership.
Thank you Lindsay and Shauna, and welcome to CAPSA’s board!
What Does CAPSA Stand For?
CAPSA stands for Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse
In 1976, two high-profile rape cases occurred on Utah State University’s campus. This troubled many community members, and deciding to act, they created the Cache Valley Rape Crisis Team. The team was a hotline and calls were directed toward the University’s Women’s Center.
In 1979, Utah passed a spousal abuse act, which made domestic violence illegal. With this legislation, both the need and funding for domestic violence shelters increased. The response team changed its name to Citizens Against Physical & Sexual Abuse, and community members began housing individuals within their own homes.
From there CAPSA has grown into a 34-bed domestic violence shelter with caseworkers and a therapy program. We also have a housing program, child advocacy, and an education department dedicated to educating youth in hopes to prevent future violence. CAPSA is a team of some of the best people who have a passion for serving our community and helping people heal from abuse.
A few of our team members share what CAPSA means to them
Brenna, Children and Youth Services Manager
“CAPSA gives a sense of hope. I love coming to work every day knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of children and youth. Their voices deserve to be heard and are often overlooked. I am happy to build relationships with our young generation in hopes to set them up for success in every aspect of their life.”
Victoria, Diversity Caseworker
“I think CAPSA for me means a place of healing and hope no matter where you come from or your immigration status, everyone is welcome here to heal and move forward.”
Maddie, Community Engagement Coordinator
“To me, CAPSA represents a true sense of hope in the face of hardship. In a world where we’re all constantly inundated with horrifying headlines and shockingly sad stories, it’s really easy to start feeling overwhelmed and to wonder where to even begin helping everyone who needs it. It’s really nice to work at a place like CAPSA, where helping survivors of abuse is the sole focus, but a major emphasis is also placed on self-care. We know that taking care of ourselves is critical to doing the work we do as successfully as possible.”
CAPSA Educators Share Stories of Why Healthy Relationships Curriculum is Important
As our educators spend time teaching in schools, they see the direct impact of the lessons they’re teaching and how students are responding to them. A couple of our educators have shared some stories and experiences where they feel their efforts in teaching about healthy relationships is paying off.
Shellie, Education Director
“I love teaching Healthy Relationships! There is nothing better than having a moving discussion with youth where they are able to identify the behaviors that they themselves and those around them display. Teaching healthy relationships allows students to recognize how they can continue to have healthy behavior and to adjust behavior that could be potentially harmful. In teaching healthy relationships, we get the opportunity to prevent potential future victims, but also future perpetrators.
An experience I had many years ago still burns clearly in my mind. After teaching a class at a local school, one of the students I had interacted with over a number of presentations approached me to share that she was concerned that she had never been in love. I was aware that this student was in a committed relationship from previous comments she had made and I asked her why she felt that way. She told me that she and her boyfriend had never had a screaming and yelling fight that they needed to have a passionate make up after. This student didn’t have great examples of relationships at home, so she had turned to songs and movies that displayed “love” such as The Notebook, or the Taylor Swifts Song, The Way I Loved You, to define what love looked like. Media had set the expectation that these unhealthy behaviors were the goal to be reached in a relationship. This was a prime example of the need for healthy relationships curriculum to be taught for youth.”
Lindsey, Educator
“The healthy relationships curriculum is important because it, in my opinion, is one of the best foundational skills youth and everyone really can learn and grow into in order to feel safe, respected, have equal power and control in their relationships–which we know prevents violence. They learn to recognize warning signs of unhealthy relationships and the building blocks to a healthy relationship. Obviously, a person can know all of these skills and still unfortunately find themselves in unhealthy and abusive relationships, but hopefully they will be able to recognize when they are in it and the resources to help them get out of that relationship and that it isn’t their fault.
I really love seeing the “aha” moments when I teach healthy relationships because “love” is often portrayed as this toxic, unhealthy obsession and persistence with a person. We see it in movies and music and books, if nothing else, this curriculum helps them be more aware as they are interacting with others and in relationships with others.”
Ashley, Educator
“One reason teaching about healthy relationships is important is because most kids and youth are unfortunately surrounded by unhealthy relationships or relationship behaviors- whether this is at home, amongst peers, in the media, or all of the above. Abusive and unhealthy behaviors are too often normalized in our society. By letting kids know these behaviors are not “normal” and teaching them the characteristics of a healthy relationship we help them realize that they deserve a healthy relationship themselves. They are better able to recognize red flags and warning signs and to look for the characteristics that make up a healthy relationship. Healthy relationships then lead to less abuse and violence in our communities.”