Recent campaign brings awareness for domestic violence and youth

Bloom 365 is a national youth-centered violence prevention organization headquartered in Phoenix.

According to a recent study: 1 in 10 American children have seen a family member assault another family member and kids who witness domestic violence are more likely to perpetuate it as an adult and be involved in dysfunctional and abusive relationships.

Donna Bartos, CEO of Bloom 365, spoke about the recent campaign that will raise awareness about domestic violence and how it affects the youth.

“Bloom 365 is a non-profit organization that focuses on three things: preventing abuse before it starts, so getting to the root causes, protecting young people from the harms that are associated from the trauma of witnessing domestic violence or experiencing dating abuse or sexual violence themselves, and interrupting violence as it’s happening, providing support to young people and intervention services to those who are actually perpetuating violence,” Bartos said.

The organization focuses on 11-24 year olds and targets Gen. Z, according to Bartos.

One of the original catchphrases this organization stands by is “Break the silence, break the cycle, and save lives.”

“It means to break the silence, we need to raise awareness, but we also need to speak out when we see the signs of abuse and violence happening. Breaking the cycle means interrupting violence in its tracks when we see those early risk factors or early red flags in young people who might be using violence. And then saving lives, we know that here in Arizona just under 100 individuals are killed each year by a domestic violence related incident. So we do need to focus on prevention and saving lives,” Bartos said.

Concerning the impact domestic violence has on children, there are many studies that show that experiencing or witnessing trauma or violence can lead to many different adverse experiences, either in adolescence or later in life, according to Bartos.