In early 2024, CTF staff members Bryanna Barber and Jennifer Sommerfeld visited the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence (SEMO-NASV) to see the Green Bear Project in action! The Green Bear Project and its companion SAFE Program is a preK-12 school-based sexual abuse prevention program that helps students as early as pre-kindergarten learn what is safe and what to do if something unsafe happens to them. Older youth and high schoolers will learn more about safe dating, dating & domestic violence and what to do if they want to seek help for themselves, a friend or a family member.
Who is Leasa Stone?
Leasa Stone is a nurse, child advocate, and former foster parent. During her time as a foster parent, Leasa cared for about 24 children. She was inspired to start the Green Bear Project in Southeast Missouri around 2000. She says, “There was nothing out there” at that time. “SEMO-NASV had just started in our area, and I didn’t even know about it until I started researching child sexual abuse.”
“So many of my foster children were sexually abused, but not one perpetrator was convicted of the crime. Almost all of those children blamed themselves for being sexually abused, even the younger ones.”
Green Bear’s Inspiration — Baby Tylen
While in Leasa’s care, Tylen required surgery for inner ear issues. Before surgery, Leasa took him to pick out a toy from the store. Among an isle full of stuffed animals, Tylen picked out a plain, light green bear with a big, green bow. He named his new friend Green Bear.
When Tylen and his siblings were re-unified with their biological parents, Green Bear was accidentally left behind. Although his parents promised to return to pick up the rest of the belongings, including Green Bear, it was never done.
In September 2000, 2-year-old Tylen Haneline was tragically killed by his biological parents soon after arriving home from his foster home with Leasa. It wasn’t long after Tylen’s death that Leasa found Green Bear in the back of a closet. She knew something needed to be done.
Why sexual abuse prevention?
“Although Tylen died due to physical abuse, I saw how sexual abuse affected most of my foster children. I was a foster parent for many years before I started The Green Bear Project. During that time, I had approximately 24 foster children. Of those foster children, 20 of them were sexually abused. Only one of the children was placed in care due to sexual abuse; the others were placed in my home for various other abusive situations.”
SEMO-NASV and Green Bear have collaborated with CTF to construct billboards informing parents there is something we agree on and guiding them to our website. I truly believe collaboration is key.
It is not a competition. We should all be working together to help children.
“When adults in our area think of sexual abuse/assault prevention education, they think of SEMO-NASV and The Green Bear Project and feel the topic can be discussed openly, rather than behind closed doors. . . The Green Bear Program was created to teach kids who have been sexually abused that the abuse was not their fault.”
