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The Rotary Club of Calexico and the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives District 5340 Chapter hosted a Teen Dating Violence Awareness Panel on Feb. 11 at the Camarena Memorial Library, bringing together local officials and mental health professionals to discuss prevention, resources, and support for teens and families.
The event, held at 850 Encinas Ave., featured panelists from law enforcement, education, and community organizations who addressed warning signs of dating violence, available services, and ways families and schools can respond.
Panelists included Imperial County District Attorney George Marquez; Carolina Gonzalez and Maria Arredondo, school-based mental health specialists with the Imperial County Office of Education; Calexico Police Chief Armando Orozco; Albert Zambrano and Mario Rios, program managers with the National Alliance on Mental Illness; and Judi Pritchard of WomanHaven.
Jazmin Bueno, a community service worker with Imperial County Behavioral Health, moderated the discussion.
Organizers said the panel aimed to increase awareness of teen dating violence and connect community members with local support resources.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show teen dating violence remains a concern for public health nationwide. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, about 8.5% of high school students who dated in the previous year reported experiencing physical teen dating violence and 9.7% reported sexual teen dating violence in 2021, with 13.6% reporting any form of dating violence including both physical and sexual violence.
Additional CDC data indicate that roughly one in 11 female and about one in 15 male high school students reported physical dating violence in the past year, and about one in nine female and one in 36 male students reported sexual dating violence.
The event marked Calexico Rotary’s second mental health-focused panel in Calexico. The club hosted a men’s mental health panel discussion in June and organized the teen dating violence forum as a continuation of its broader mental health awareness initiative aimed at increasing education and connecting residents with local resources. In addition to the panel, the Calexico City Council and the Imperial County Board of Supervisors adopted proclamations declaring February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
