DC Health and Academic Prep Program (DC HAPP)
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Description
Domestic Violence, forms of abuse that occur at home, significantly and negatively impacts the long-term physical, emotional, and mental health of those who experience and witness it. Child victims face a harder time coping with their trauma as they lack access to supportive resources, the autonomy to utilize those resources, and not knowing there are available support systems in the first place. And in socio-economically disadvantaged areas in D.C. like Wards 7 & 8, the gap in access is even greater. To address this disparity, we’ve developed Better Together: a peer mentorship program focusing on supporting child victims of domestic violence in Wards 7 & 8. Our trauma-intervention model of peer support, emotionally-enriching activities, and a website for further outreach and resource access is aimed at improving the psychological and emotional health of marginalized child victims.
Domestic Violence, including verbal, physical, psychological, and sexual abuse that occurs between caregivers at home, is classified as a violent crime (What Is Domestic Violence, 2024). The highest rates of violent crime are shown to occur in Wards 7 and 8, and in 2025 they’ve disproportionately contributed to 32% of all violent crimes across the city (Metropolitan Police Department, 2025). Additionally, Wards 7 and 8 are both majority Black districts that contain the highest rates of families living in poverty at 19.48% and 19.26% respectively; these areas also have the lowest income averages across the city at $57,940 and $50,855 respectively (Matters, 2025). A lack of income, household stability, and neighborhood safety are social determinants of health (non-medical factors) that significantly increase the likelihood of domestic violence occurring at home (CAWC, 2024).
Between 3 and 10 million adolescents witness and/or experience domestic violence directly at home each year (AACAP, 2019). While known to negatively impact those who witness it, many don’t realize its true damaging effect on the mental health of children. Children who witness their mother being abused often develop ulcers, and suffer from sleep issues, depression, and extreme anxiety (Metropolitan Police Department, n.d.). Child victims and witnesses may also become behaviorally challenged, with many showing signs of increased aggression, difficulty concentrating, destructive behavior, lying, and substance abuse (State of Michigan, 2015). These adverse effects ultimately harm the long-term health and development of children, and contribute to a perpetual cycle of violence; The Metropolitan Police Department that “A boy from a home where his mother is abused is 74% more likely to commit a violent act,” (n.d.). With this in mind, we’ve created Better Together: a peer mentorship program meant to intervene in the lives of children experiencing DV at home, and helping them grow into emotionally resilient, empowered, and happier people.
Publication Date
2025
Keywords
Domestic Violence Intervention; Mental Health Improvement; Adolescents; Youth Mental Health
Recommended Citation
Alvarez, Melanie; Bell, Rajan; Vasquez, Katie Lopez; Oppong, Caleb; and Cooper, Zori, "Better Together: Improving Youth Mental Health Through DV Intervention" (2025). DC Health and Academic Prep Program (DC HAPP). 25.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/dchapp/25
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