United Against Violence-VerticalBuffalo County Community Partners is pleased to announce that Marcie Holmes has agreed to chair United Against Violence, a coalition that is dedicated to bringing together parents, child care professionals, educators, school counselors, mental health professionals, youth pastors, and law enforcement personnel to exchange ideas and combine our efforts to keep children safe and help them to become successful in our schools and community.

Currently patient care coordinator at Richard Young Hospital in Kearney, Holmes has been a licensed professional counselor since 2006 and joined the Richard Young staff in 2007 as a primary therapist.

“United Against Violence has worked to educate schools, day care centers, and individuals in ways to identify and prevent bullying, as well as help young people build a more positive self-image,” said Holmes, “I believe the group is making a real difference.”

According to the 2012 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, over 20% of Buffalo County students in grades 9-12 report being bullied on school property, over 19% reported being involved in at least one physical fight, and over 17% reported being victimized by cyber-bullying. The goal of the group is to reduce these occurrences.

Beginning with the start of this school year, the organization has advocated for trauma-informed care in schools and the community, social/emotional learning in Buffalo County classrooms, the expansion of youth mentoring programs and PhotoVoice, a project that uses photography to help teen-agers constructively express themselves and connect with the community.

Concerned community members are invited to join the group, which seeks to pool the community’s resources to help keep children safe and become successful. For more information, please visit the Buffalo County Community Partners website at bcchp.org or call Buffalo County Community Partners at 308-865-2290.

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