Veronica Lopez, a domestic violence prevention education specialist with the Community Resource Center, told the Encinitas Youth Commission on Jan. 7 that CRC offers teen dating violence prevention workshops, healthy-relationships presentations and a teen wellness conference aimed at equipping students with skills for healthy boundaries and consent. "My name is Veronica Lopez, and my role at the Community Resource Center is I am a domestic violence prevention education specialist," she said.

Lopez described CRC’s three core offerings: a teen dating violence prevention workshop that highlights red flags and unhealthy behaviors; a healthy-relationships classroom presentation; and a countywide teen wellness conference held three times per year. She said last year’s conference drew "almost 100 teens" at a San Marcos site and that CRC partners with multiple organizations to reach students.

Lopez recommended a range of youth-led activities for schools, including short morning mini-presentations, student-created artwork and anonymous poetry readings, role-playing exercises to practice saying no, and daily healthy-relationship tips. She said CRC can provide ready-to-use presentations and worksheets to school staff: "I do have done-for-you presentations and worksheets that you can use at your school," Lopez said, offering to share materials and a flyer.

Commissioners and students responded with practical suggestions — timing presentations at the start of the school year or during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in February, holding events during wellness weeks, and softening language (for example, framing programs as "healthy-relationship workshops" to broaden appeal). Vice Chair Hubbell and others also urged CRC to include mental-health resources and recommended partnering with school counselors to create pathways for student support.

Lopez closed with a call to action for the commission’s youth members: she asked attendees to email specific suggestions and offered to use those comments when advocating to schools and partners. "We are gonna say that there’s teens out there that are asking for this," she said, noting that CRC intends to carry youth input into program outreach.

The commission took no formal action on Lopez’s presentation during the meeting; commissioners indicated interest in coordinating CRC workshops with school calendars and in gathering student feedback for CRC to use in outreach.