Member Spotlight: Liana Broomans

Name: Liana Broomans

Position: Primary Prevention Facilitator, Hubbard House

Degrees: B.A. in Social Work from Southern Illinois University

Hometown: Vernon Hills, IL

Favorite Part of Jacksonville: The beach and memorial park

I serve with Hubbard House, a domestic violence shelter, in the community education sector. My position is a Primary Prevention Facilitator, in which, I facilitate anti-violence and character building curriculum at after-school programs throughout Duval County. The program that I facilitate is called W.A.V.E. (Working Against Violence Everyday). Domestic Violence is a national health issue and, unlike many other general crimes, goes highly unreported. In 2010-2011, Hubbard House received 3,039 hotline calls, sheltered 1,030 victims including 475 children, and served an additional 4,527 victims and their children in our non-residential programs. Domestic violence has the ability to continue to plague our communities due to lack of awareness of the problem itself and the services available. Part of my role serving as an AmeriCorps member is to help build awareness of domestic violence within Duval County.

The W.A.V.E. program is a 10 session curriculum in which students learn to identify and prevent bullying in their schools and communities, develop conflict resolution skills, and gain a better understanding of the impact that physical, emotional, and verbal violence can have. I believe that teaching youth about healthy relationships is imperative when combating a culture that is fixated on violence. Many of the students I teach are constantly exposed to violence on all different levels, from TV and video games to witnessing violence on a daily basis in their homes and communities. While facilitating these classes, I have witnessed students have a complete change of perception on violence and bullying. We are able to measure the effectiveness of our curriculum through pre- and post- tests. This information helps Hubbard House to show that violence is preventable.

I joined AmeriCorps for several reasons. The first and most obvious reason being that I wanted to help people in need. I was able to achieve that goal tenfold. Upon completion of this program, I want to continue to help empower others and be an advocate for those in need. I plan to do this by going to graduate school and completing my Masters in Social Work. My service term, thus far, has been an eye opening experience for me. This has helped to reaffirm the fact that working in social services is exactly what I was meant to do.