Positive Youth Connections and The MARS Project
2532 N. 4th St., #506
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
Main phone: (928) 774-4503
Fax: (928) 774-5809
24-Hour Crisis Line: (928) 527-1900 or (877) 634-2763
NFHC@northlandfamily.org
http://www.northlandfamily.org
Printable brochure (PDF)
Mission
Northland Family Help Center provides safe haven, advocacy and education for people living in unhealthy and violent relationships.
Agency Overview
Northland Family Help Center (NFHC) is a nonprofit located in Flagstaff, Arizona. In 1991 Northland Crisis Nursery and Women’s Resource Center merged to form Northland Family Help Center. Northland Crisis Nursery was founded in 1978 with five beds for infants. That same year, the Women’s Resource Center began providing services to women survivors of domestic violence. These two organizations established the foundation from which Northland Family Help Center provides services today.
Northland Family Help Center is now in its 29th year of providing prevention education, essential support services and shelter.
We envision a community where all people live in safety, where all forms of violence have been eradicated, and where healthy families and individuals serve as the foundation of a vibrant and productive community.
Northland Family Help Center (NFHC) consists of five departments:
- Women’s Shelter: for women and their children fleeing domestic violence.
- Children’s Shelter: for youth ages 0-18.
- Counseling
- Legal Advocacy: offering free legal advocacy for survivors
- Community Education Department
Description of Programs/Services
ADHS funds the NFHC Community Education Department in its efforts to eliminate sexual violence through primary prevention and education.
NFHC Community Education Department targets two populations through two innovative projects: Positive Youth Connections and The MARS Project.
Positive Youth Connections (PYC) is a youth-focused program that seeks to educate the various members of the youth community, from the youth themselves to teachers and administration, parents/guardians, youth staff, and any others community members that may be associated with youth. There are several components to PYC that work together to form a comprehensive educational plan. These components may include: multi-session workshops; social marketing; parent/guardian training; and the PEACE Project (Prevention Education And Creative Expression). The PEACE Project is an innovative traveling youth theater troupe that, through performances and follow-up dialogue, seeks to educate the community and their peers about youth issues. They focus their performances upon youth empowerment and the prevention of gender and relationship violence, using art and communication as their primary tools of education.
The MARS Project (Men Against Rape and Sexism) is a student-driven organization that is focused on the decrease of sexual violence at Northern Arizona University. The MARS Project is made up of four different branches. The first branch involves the peer education team: peer educators facilitate trainings, workshops and presentations to other students. The second branch is for students who are interested in coordinating community events (e.g., the Clothesline Project, Take Back The Night, and so forth). The third branch of MARS is for students who are interested in coalition building with other organizations, both university and community. The final branch of MARS is for students who are interested in political participation; these students attend board meetings, advocate to other student and/or administrative organizations, and participate in student government.
Updated 11/18/08