Cramm Charity: One Love
Check out our latest Cramm Charity, One Love. Spoiler alert: you’ll be left crazy inspired to get involved (we know we were). One Love was created by the family of Yeardley Love after she was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend. Determined to help teens and young adults get out of a bad situation before it’s too late, One Love aims to educate 13-24 year olds on the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Read our interview with this incredible charity below.
Before we start, make sure to check out One Love's Instagram and Twitter. For more info on how to help out, check out their website here.
theCramm: How does One Love hope to make a difference by educating teens around the world?
One Love (OL): Relationship abuse affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men. Additionally, women between the ages of 16 and 24 are at a 3x greater risk of being in an abusive relationship. One Love was created after Yeardley Love was killed, and we exist today because Yeardley’s death was 100% avoidable – if anyone in her life had truly understood the unhealthy and increasingly dangerous relationship behaviors they witnessed. Today, we work to make sure others have access to the information that Yeardley and her friends and family did not. By educating young people about the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors, and what to do if they see a warning sign of an unhealthy relationship, we hope to change the statistics around relationship abuse.
theCramm: What’s a typical work day look like at One Love?
OL: A typical work day looks different depending on who at One Love you’re speaking to. For folks on our Program Engagement Team, it means speaking with students, teachers, community members, and parents on the phone, online, or in person about using One Love’s tools. It means holding Escalation Workshop facilitator trainings, and assessing how to reach more people across the country.
theCramm: What’s the biggest obstacle One Love faces while informing younger generations about the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships?
OL: One of the obstacles One Love faces is continuing to capture the unique challenges young people face while learning about relationships as they grow, and how this differs in different communities. That fact is, there are definite signs that a relationship is based on love versus a relationship rooted in control and our charge is teaching young people how to identify those subtle signs early on in any relationship.
theCramm: What do you think some of the biggest problems facing today’s youth are when it comes to relationships of any kind? What are your thoughts on the future of relationships for young people?
OL: Some of the biggest problems facing today’s youth when it comes to relationships is ensuring healthy face to face conversation. A lot happens on our phones today – whether it’s texting or being on social media, we can’t forget to take the time to be with each other face to face, to communicate in that way, and to remember that anything we say on social media or through texts can be seen by anyone else.
theCramm: Do you have a favorite story about how One Love’s involvement was able to affect a positive change in someone’s life?
OL: Definitely. After watching Escalation, a male student went up to an administrator after class and said, “I’m just like Chase.” (Chase is the perpetrator in the Escalation film). His girlfriend had just had him arrested for setting one of her shirts on fire and he couldn’t figure out what her problem was, until he saw it from the other side. The administrator explained that he scared her and got him into a counseling center.
theCramm: Do you have a specific “motto” at One Love that motivates and inspires you?
OL: We all deserve happy and healthy relationships.
theCramm: If you could ask yourself any question concerning One Love, what would it be, and could you please answer it?
OL: A question we’re asked a lot is how can I start a conversation about healthy and unhealthy relationships with my teen? I think parents and even administrators will find One Love’s content really useful when trying to get an idea of some of the challenges teens experience while dating. Our blog covers modern relationship woe’s like gaslighting, moving on after a breakup, and how to help a friend through a difficult relationship. On our website, parents can also find video content and accompanying discussion guides to help facilitate an open dialogue about healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
One Love (OL): Relationship abuse affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men. Additionally, women between the ages of 16 and 24 are at a 3x greater risk of being in an abusive relationship. One Love was created after Yeardley Love was killed, and we exist today because Yeardley’s death was 100% avoidable – if anyone in her life had truly understood the unhealthy and increasingly dangerous relationship behaviors they witnessed. Today, we work to make sure others have access to the information that Yeardley and her friends and family did not. By educating young people about the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors, and what to do if they see a warning sign of an unhealthy relationship, we hope to change the statistics around relationship abuse.
theCramm: What’s a typical work day look like at One Love?
OL: A typical work day looks different depending on who at One Love you’re speaking to. For folks on our Program Engagement Team, it means speaking with students, teachers, community members, and parents on the phone, online, or in person about using One Love’s tools. It means holding Escalation Workshop facilitator trainings, and assessing how to reach more people across the country.
theCramm: What’s the biggest obstacle One Love faces while informing younger generations about the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships?
OL: One of the obstacles One Love faces is continuing to capture the unique challenges young people face while learning about relationships as they grow, and how this differs in different communities. That fact is, there are definite signs that a relationship is based on love versus a relationship rooted in control and our charge is teaching young people how to identify those subtle signs early on in any relationship.
theCramm: What do you think some of the biggest problems facing today’s youth are when it comes to relationships of any kind? What are your thoughts on the future of relationships for young people?
OL: Some of the biggest problems facing today’s youth when it comes to relationships is ensuring healthy face to face conversation. A lot happens on our phones today – whether it’s texting or being on social media, we can’t forget to take the time to be with each other face to face, to communicate in that way, and to remember that anything we say on social media or through texts can be seen by anyone else.
theCramm: Do you have a favorite story about how One Love’s involvement was able to affect a positive change in someone’s life?
OL: Definitely. After watching Escalation, a male student went up to an administrator after class and said, “I’m just like Chase.” (Chase is the perpetrator in the Escalation film). His girlfriend had just had him arrested for setting one of her shirts on fire and he couldn’t figure out what her problem was, until he saw it from the other side. The administrator explained that he scared her and got him into a counseling center.
theCramm: Do you have a specific “motto” at One Love that motivates and inspires you?
OL: We all deserve happy and healthy relationships.
theCramm: If you could ask yourself any question concerning One Love, what would it be, and could you please answer it?
OL: A question we’re asked a lot is how can I start a conversation about healthy and unhealthy relationships with my teen? I think parents and even administrators will find One Love’s content really useful when trying to get an idea of some of the challenges teens experience while dating. Our blog covers modern relationship woe’s like gaslighting, moving on after a breakup, and how to help a friend through a difficult relationship. On our website, parents can also find video content and accompanying discussion guides to help facilitate an open dialogue about healthy and unhealthy behaviors.