“High School Shooting Spree Leaves 10 Dead”… “Texas Mom Drowns Kids”… “Teen Shoots Dad after Man Kills Mom”…

Tragic headlines splatter the tops of our newspapers.

What is becoming of today’s youth?

Can we save our children?

Are there any answers?

Are there solutions?

YES! Answers exist – solutions long to reveal themselves –

and Innovative Alternatives, Inc. is a proven leader in implementing solution focused services. Since 1989, Innovative Alternatives, Inc. has been “Serving the Community through Mediation and Counseling.” This includes implementing Violence Prevention Programs – Peer Mediation, Conflict Resolution, Anger Management, and Anti-Bullying Programs – in over 300 schools across more than 28 different school districts throughout Harris, Brazoria, and Galveston counties. School shootings dictate the need for change – they exemplify the need to see school violence and bullying as something other than a “right of passage.” Bullying is not a phase children go through and then grow out of, as once believed. Cullingford and Morrison, (1997) established strong links between school bullying behavior and future domestic abuse. In fact, children identified as bullies by the age of 8 are 6 times more likely to be convicted of a felony by the age of 24 and 5 times more likely to have a serious record by the age of 30 (Bully Proofing Your School, 2000). Innovative Alternatives, Inc. proactively combats this tragic trend, by establishing “Caring Communities” on school campuses that make schools safe places to learn and work.

But it doesn’t always start in the schools. Domestic violence and child abuse take a devastating toll on children. Early childhood victimization, either through direct abuse or witnessing parental domestic violence, exhibits long-term consequences for youth violence and other forms of criminality (The Cycle of Violence. Science, Reprint Series, 244, 1989). So, in addition to the prevention programs established in schools, IAI further impacts positive child development with intervention services to address the needs of the family as well as bring healing to the abused. Through funding from United Way and the State of Texas, the Victim Assistance Program at Innovative Alternatives, Inc. offers free counseling to victims by licensed therapists. These professionals are able to testify as expert witnesses in criminal cases assisting in the conviction of perpetrators of crimes against children. A sixteen year old teenager says it best:

“I can honestly say I am here for a reason. That is something I never would have said 2 years ago. I am a sixteen year old who was sexually abused by my father from a very young age. I was able to keep it a secret for 13 years. I covered the abuse well with good grades, lots of friends and lots of extra curricular activities. Materially- I had everything. When I was a freshman I went to IAI for counseling…My dad went to court because he said that it didn’t happen. It was hard to face him and tell the jury about the last 13 years of my life. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I would have never been able to do it without the help of my counselor. I wouldn’t be here today without that help.”

Through the Family Preservation Program (another program funded by United Way), IAI proactively combats attacks on the family by providing individual, couples, family and group therapy services as well as facilitating mediation for marital and family reconciliation, divorce mediation, and custody mediation. Continuing to promote the family unit, IAI goes the extra mile in facilitating parenting norms during and after divorce and leads the field in family conflict resolution services. Innovative Alternatives, Inc. aims to promote safe schools, healthy families and strong individuals, thus positively impacting the development of our children – our future.