Look in the newspapers in your area for a violent crime or an article about violence in your community. Or you could think about or research domestic violence–that happens in EVERY community.

Look back at those articles and see if they mentioned any organizations that helped the victims. Online, type in the organization name and your city and find their website. Or type in the type of crime and your city/state to find out more about it.

The last two parts are where your thinking and writing skills come in. I recommend sitting down for a few minutes after you have read all the information and just thinking about it. What did the organization do that helped? Did they do enough of that? Should they do more of that or try something different? Try to imagine yourself as a victim. What would you want someone to do to help you?

This is a tough subject, but a good one to think about. Even if you haven’t experienced violence in your life, it is a tough thing that many people go through, and hopefully learning about it will help you be compassionate.

Good luck!