October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in honor of it we want to tell you about a special White County Proclamation signed by Monticello Mayor Ken Houston, let you know about various domestic violence community resources, and inform you about you how you can help.
Raising Awareness For Domestic Violence
On October 2nd, Mayor Ken Houston signed a proclamation about domestic violence that declared October to be Domestic Violence awareness month.
The proclamation included statistics and facts and domestic violence that are important to everyone.
Last year alone, 52 women lost their lives due to domestic violence in just one year in the state of Indiana, and even men and women in our own part of the state have lost their lives to it in the past year as well. For domestic violence can affect individuals regardless of age, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion or economic status.
Part of the proclamation highlights the need to support victims and their children through our legal system, law enforcement agencies, healthcare providers, advocacy centers, and safe places.
To read the full proclamation, click here.
Community Resources
The YWCA
Once main community resource for those facing domestic violence situations is the YWCA’s Domestic Violence Intervention and Prevention Program. You can learn more about that program and how to support the YWCA by clicking here.
You can also support the YWCA by attending the upcoming October Network Lunch, which is $15 and features the Director of Women’s Studies at Purdue University.
Other Resources
If you know someone in a domestic abuse relationship, remind them that if they are in immediate danger they should call 9-1-1. If they are not in immediate danger but need help, they can also call a Domestic Violence Hotline number, which is 765-423-1118 or 1-888-345-1118. This number is available 24 hours a day, year round.
Another Domestic Violence Hotline is provided by the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and is 800-332-7385. To learn more about programs run by the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and see how you can support them, click here.
As you go forward in this Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we encourage you to seek out how you can help the local or state programs that are working to end domestic voilence.
As the White County proclamation says, we believe that “domestic violence is not a private matter to be kept secret, but is a crime that reaches outside of individual homes and into our streets, our classrooms, and our work places.” With your help, we can work to end domestic violence in our community.
