Domestic Violence Awareness Month Events Around Texas
PlanoCourierStar
Katy Remembers Silent Witnesses
By Sharon Dore
Times Reporter
A hushed crowd gathered on the plaza at La Centerra Thursday morning to attend Katy Christian Ministries’ “Silent Witness Breakfast.”
The group was comprised of local dignitaries, area residents, business people and KISD students enrolled in parenting education classes.
The memory of former Katy resident and KCM client, Mina Rosenthal-Eames, was honored along with 28 other individuals who lost their lives to domestic violence in Harris County in 2007.
“She {Rosenthal-Eames} came to us in June of last year,” said Lisa Sanchez, director of KCM’s Crisis Center. “She said, ‘You have to help me. He’s going to kill me.’”
In August her estranged husband fatally shot her on her way home from classes at the University of Texas Dental Branch.
Keynote speaker for the event was Fox News anchor Melissa Wilson.
Domestic abuse is an issue important to her for many reasons. These crimes are in the news on a regular basis giving Wilson a first hand look at the effects on the lives of the victims.
KatyTimes
Noah Project helps Domestic Violence Victims
Times Reporter
In August her estranged husband fatally shot her on her way home from classes at the University of Texas Dental Branch.
Keynote speaker for the event was Fox News anchor Melissa Wilson.
Domestic abuse is an issue important to her for many reasons. These crimes are in the news on a regular basis giving Wilson a first hand look at the effects on the lives of the victims.
KatyTimes
Designated smoking areas have become their own subculture, a place for friends and co-workers to build camaraderie through conversation and a mutual past time, however unhealthful it may be.
The smoking area at the Noah Project’s shelter is one of these communal hubs, though you might find the conversation a bit unusual for these typically casual daybreaks. You won’t hear many complaints about uncooperative colleagues, overbearing bosses, or what’s good in the cafeteria that day.
Instead, the women staying in the nonprofit shelter for victims of domestic violence might swap stories about their abuse and readjusting to society.
The women use this low-key private time as a means of finding some normalcy in the midst of whirlwind circumstances.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Noah Project is one local agency helping people escape such situations.
Women’s Center to Host Teen Conference
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — On Saturday, October 25, from 9 am - 2 pm, the Montgomery County Women’s Center will host a free teen conference called “Use Your Voice - Make A Choice”. Both male and female teens, grades 7 through 12, are invited to participate in this event.
The conference, observing Domestic Violence Awareness Month, will feature expert speakers including Miss Montgomery County 2008, Candace Bennatt whose platform focuses on domestic violence and healthy teen relationships and Ava Wick who will inspire the group with her motivational segment on “Be Yourself!”.
‘Honorable Man March’ Puts the Spotlight on Domestic Violence
by Julie Ann Thompson
jthompson@thepampanews.com
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The annual “Honorable Man March” sponsored by Tralee Crisis Center was held yesterday in observance of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The march began at the north steps of City Hall and ended at the Knights of Columbus Hall, where a reception and recognition of Honorable Man nominees was held.
“You are the seeds of the plant that is going to grow,” Tralee Crisis Center Executive Director Dee Dee Laramore said to those in attendance. “You are the reason we’re not going to tolerate being mean to each other.”
Mayor Lonny Robbins, who officially declared October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, spoke about the need to educate the public. He said a lot of people don’t understand that their behavior is wrong.
“One of the things I really appreciate about social issues is the people who take up the cause,” Robbins said. “But this is not going to be solved over night.”
The Pampa High School drum core followed the marchers as they began, beating their drums every three seconds to represent every time someone becomes a victim of domestic violence in the United States.
New SAFE-T grants take sting out of funding hit
By LYNDA STRINGER - Tribune City Editor
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| Angela McMillian, manager of the SAFE-T resale store in Mount Pleasant, helps a customer with her purchase. TRIBUNE photo by Lynda Stringer |
Shelter Agencies for Families in East Texas, still nursing its wounds from a huge funding hit last month, has received word they’ve been awarded two grants that will help fill the void. The agency, which serves Titus, Camp, Franklin, Morris and Hopkins counties providing services and shelter to victims of domestic abuse, has been awarded a $38,000 grant from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and a $20,000 grant from the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation. Carol Gresham, SAFE-T director, said the MKACF grant will go partly toward the agency’s overall budget. It will also go into a client fund.
It will pay for rent or deposits to help people get into housing quicker as well as things such gas vouchers, medicines and clothing, Gresham said.
“They need gas to look for work, to get to work or look for housing,” she said. “Some women get out of the hospital with a prescription for pain. They might have a broken arm or leg or jaw. We try to stay away from pain medication, but in that case, we would fill a prescription for about a week.”
The women receive vouchers for clothing from the agency’s resale stores, but this grant will pay for items that aren’t available, such the right size shoes or undergarments that have to be purchased at a department store.
Domestic Violence Outreach in East Texas draws Widespread Awareness
The Lufkin Daily News
Outreach to East Texas residents living in domestic violence has become more visible this year with the grand opening of a $2 million complex in Lufkin and an Angelina County family violence court underway.
The visibility of such programs is exactly what Margi Preston, executive director of the Women’s Shelter of East Texas, said helps create awareness and push forth change in the community.
Photo courtesy of the Women’s Shelter of East Texas |
| Janelle Grum Family Crisis Center in Lufkin fully opened in June and operates a 39-bed safe house for domestic violence and sexual assault victims and their families. |
“It’s becoming more socially acceptable — trying not to hide away victims and their families,” Preston said. “Often victims are re-victimized by having to stay in private shelters, so the new center has really helped with the challenges of moving someone.”
The Janelle Grum Family Crisis Center on Davisville Road fully opened in June and operates a 39-bed safe house for domestic violence and sexual assault victims and their families, along with counseling and other tools to help victims’ and their families rebuild their lives. The facility is equipped with 24-hour surveillance and gated security for protection from offenders.
Three months after opening, the center has already housed half of the victims, 155, it did last year, Preston said.
East Texas Crisis Center to Sponsor Important Domestic Violence Awareness Month Events
The East Texas Crisis Center (ETCC) has several important DVAM events scheduled for October 2008, which will serve to bring awareness to the seriousness and prevalence of domestic violence. Among the activities planned for October are the Hope Awards-October 9, Candlelight Vigil-October 21, Family Justice Conference-October 29, and a Teen Dating Violence Debate-November 1. For additional information on ETCC/DVAM efforts please click the link below.
Grant presented in Waco for Texas Advocacy Project
A $50,000 grant is being presented to the Texas Advocacy Project right about now at the David Wilson Allstate Insurance Agency in Waco to help victims of domestic violence.
The Allstate Foundation is giving the $50,000 check as part of its Economic Empowerment Program and to make the start of October’s National Domestic Violence Awareness Month..
According to a release, the Texas Advocacy Project has helped more than 8,000 victims of domestic violence across Texas in 2008.
Expert Speaks Out on Domestic Violence to Law Enforcement Officers
A national expert on domestic violence is in West Texas training law enforcement officers thanks to a local nonprofit.
Safe place of the Permian Basin invited Lieutenant Mark Wynn for a seminar on domestic violence investigation and intervention.
Wynn is a 15-year veteran formerly with the Nashville police in Tennessee.
The three Odessa police officers killed in the line of duty last year were responding to a domestic violence call.
ETCC To Honor “Silent Witnesses”
Written by Kmoo News
The East Texas Crisis Center (ETCC) will present a 2008 Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation at 9 am. October 14 to the Van Zandt County Commissioner’s Court.
Along with the proclamation, “Silent Witnesses” will be on display throughout the county the week of October 13-17.
The Silent Witness project is a national program against domestic violence homicides that began in 1990. It’s mission is to promote peace, healing, and responsibility in adult relationships in order to eliminate domestic murders.
Silent Witnesses are life-sized red wooden figures of women who’ve been murdered in acts of domestic violence, with breastplate shields giving each woman’s name and her story.
The project debuted in Texas at the state capitol in Austin in 1997 with a march, memorial service, and a three-day exhibit by Texas First Lady Anita Perry.
KMOO.com
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October 2008 was recently proclaimed Domestic Violence Awareness month by Governor Rick Perry. This month advocates all over the states will be raising awareness about domestic violence. This month particularly, WPS wants to urge men to become active in the movement to eradicate domestic violence from our community. WPS will host several events throughout the month to educate and inspire those who want to end this epidemic. Here are just a few:The Clothesline Project will give survivors a voice. Survivors of domestic violence have designed t-shirts that express how this issue has impacted our lives. Tornado Gallery will host the event.
Family Crisis Center of the Big Bend to Sponsor Candlelight Vigil
By Tona Vega
In recognition of October, 2008, as Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) in Presidio, the Family Crisis Center of the Big Bend (FCC/BB) is sponsoring a candlelight vigil on October 21, in memory of domestic violence victims killed in 2008. FCC/BB staff has invited community leaders and domestic violence advocates to join them at 6:00p.m. on the 21st at Sul Ross Library with the event concluding at the Courthouse Gazebo. The primary goal of the vigil is to raise awareness about domestic violence and encourage members of the community to take action to prevent and end abuse. The vigil is one of several DVAM events sponsored by the Family Crisis Center during October, 2008.
Phones will be donated to SAFE-T
Camp County’s Kids Care Club’s first project is a cell phone donation project. Donation boxes are set up at Smith Furniture, The Pittsburg Gazette, and East Texas Medical Center in the emergency room admitting area. Boxes are also located at Hess Furniture and Brookshire’s in Mount Pleasant.
The phones will be collected through the months of September and October and donated to SAFE-T Crisis Center in Mount Pleasant Oct. 25, National Make a Difference Day. SAFE-T will distribute the phones to victims of domestic violence.
PittsburgGazette
Sunday, October 05, 2008
