Mayor Arlene Johnson issued a proclamation at Monday's council meeting declaring a Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week for February 1st through the 5th.  

On hand to accept the proclamation were volunteers from the National Council of Jewish Women's (NCJW) Teen Dating Abuse Project including Sharon Falkin, Marylu Valenzano, Roberta Zacker (Livingston resident), Linda Berman (Livingston resident), Shari Harrison (Livingston resident) and Marion Medow (Livingston resident).

On February 3, the group will present a program on  "Teen Dating Abuse —The Untold Story" at the libray at 7 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public, with the main intent to inform both teens and parents of the dangers of dating abuse.

According to statistics, one out of three teens is in an abusive dating relationship, yet more than 80% of parents are unaware that their children are involved in such a situation.

During the program, parents will learn how to recognize the warning signs of dating abuse and how to talk to children about developing healthy relationships.  The multi-media presentation will alert adults to the dangers of power and control as a precursor to domestic violence, and will provide tools to assist parents in guiding their sons and daughters to recognize and/or leave an abusive relationship.

* Correction: In first edition of this story, there was an error; it was a week proclaimed, not the entire month of February, as reported.