Author Archive for: JB
Entries by JB Mantz
Teen Dating Awareness Month Wraps Up
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is wrapping up today, but our work won’t stop. Interested in starting a conversation about healthy relationships with a young person in your life but not sure where to start? Courtesy of Love Is Respect this spectrum provides useful signs of healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships. You can make a […]
Coping During COVID: How Life Span Counselors Help Clients
53% of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus in a Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted over the summer. We think the other 47% may have misunderstood the question. How is the Life Span counseling team helping clients to survive […]
How COVID-19 Impacts Our Clients
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an awful health and economic impact on our country. And survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are no exception. COVID-19 has harmed Life Span clients in too many ways. Here are six examples shared by Life Span counselors and attorneys; client names have been changed to protect privacy. “Magdalena,” […]
Human Trafficking Project Expands
(image credit: Learning Center for Human Development) Human traffickers use manipulation, threats, violence, and financial exploitation to control their victims. Sound familiar? These are the same tools of abuse that perpetrators of domestic violence use. And as we have for victims of domestic violence for over four decades, Life Span now is standing up for […]
How Life Span is Helping During COVID-19
At Life Span, we have adjusted our practices to fit the needs of our clients. Most trials have switched to zoom. Most counseling is conducted by video and phone. For clients who prefer and staff who are able, we are doing in-person counseling. Our advocates and attorneys visit the courthouse when necessary. For example, […]
November 2019 Newsletter
Senate refuses to reauthorize VAWA The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) became federal law in 1994. VAWA brought groundbreaking legal relief for victims of domestic and sexual violence and provided funding for innovative programming to address the needs of survivors. Congress has reauthorized VAWA periodically since then. VAWA expired in at the end of 2018, […]
September 2019 Newsletter
Youth Advisory Board to Raise Awareness About Dating Violence “Domestic and sexual violence end here” is a Life Span motto and an ambitious goal. One way we can make it happen: educating the next generation. Life Span Director of Counseling Laura Valiukenas and Advocate Sasha Solov provided teen dating violence prevention training to a group […]
Jim DeRogatis, Light to Life Honoree, September 25, 2019
Life Span’s 2nd Annual Light to Life Benefit Life Span’s second annual Light to Life benefit event, speaker and honoree is Jim DeRogatis, writer, author, and renowned Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ 91.5 FM Sound Opinions co-host! Jim’s new book is Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly. Please join us: Galleria Marchetti 825 W Erie St, […]
Future of Counseling
The Future of Counseling at Life Span New Director of Counseling, Laura Valiukenas, with outgoing Director of Counseling, Margaret Luft. Peggy Luft turns over the reins of Director of Counseling to Life Span’s Senior Counselor, Laura Valiukenas. Laura joined Life Span in 2012. She was first stationed at Chicago’s Domestic Violence Courthouse, advocating for survivors […]