Verizon Awards $45K to RI Domestic Violence Prevention Programs
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
A symbol of National Domestic Violence Awareness month, the purple ribbon signifies interpersonal and domestic violence and abuse awareness and prevention.
The Rhode Island organizations are among 42 nonprofit agencies across New England receiving a total of $335,000 in Verizon Foundation grants to support domestic violence prevention services and programs. The foundation is focusing its support on programs that engage men in domestic violence awareness and prevention; mobilize teens to engage in healthy relationships and in spreading domestic violence prevention; help survivors transition through economic empowerment programs; and support families through health care initiatives.
Grant Recipients
Day One, Providence - $7,500
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDay One’s group therapy program for caregivers of sexual assault victims is focused on providing comprehensive individual therapy programs for non-offending caretakers of child victims. When children are sexually abused, this experience has a great effect on the entire family. Group counseling provides members with the opportunity to receive and give help or feedback to their peers, and helps them recognize that they are not alone in their concerns. These services will not only help the parents cope with the situation, but also provide much needed support to their children, while allowing the child to heal.
Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County, Wakefield - $5,000
Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County's (DVRCSC) Engaging Male Coaches in Preventing Violence program will train and support male coaches to work in schools on ways to provide positive role modeling of healthy masculinity and how to prevent violence among young men and boys. The coaches, who are trained with a curriculum developed by A Call to Men, are well positioned to incorporate positive messages about violence prevention and healthy masculinity. The program also engages a male program facilitator who will be able to easily connect with the audience, and will work with an education advocate who works closely with students, teachers and administrators in the schools. The goal is to reduce incidences of bullying and violence in our schools.
East Providence Prevention Council, East Providence - $5,000
The East Providence Prevention Council’s Townie Leadership Academy (TLA) addresses teen dating violence and uses the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program (MVP) curriculum. The MVP program is a gender violence, bullying, and school violence prevention approach that encourages young men and women to take on leadership roles in their schools and communities. The training is focused on an innovative "bystander" model that empowers each student to take an active role in promoting a positive school climate. In this model, a "bystander" is defined as a family member, friend, classmate, teammate, coworker—anyone who is embedded in a family, school, social, or professional relationship with someone who might in some way be abusive or experiencing abuse.
Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Warwick - $10,000
The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s Ten Men Project trains and cultivates male leaders to engage other men in the work to prevent domestic violence. The project's primary goal is to increase the number of men in Rhode Island who publicly challenge traditional gender norms and speak out against domestic violence. The project includes outreach and recruitment to retain ten new male participants annually; five trainings per year for the target population; ongoing technical assistance to enable the men to effectively complete their personal goals; and the creation of public awareness opportunities for the Ten Men participants.
Sojourner House, Providence - $5,000
Sojourner House’s Young Voices program will train up to 180 youth to become healthy-relationships trendsetters in Providence area high schools. The training developed with support from Futures Without Violence, a national organization for dating violence prevention, will create small strategic teams to educate peers at their schools about healthy relationships and strategies to recognize and speak out against teen dating violence. Young Voices operates on-site weekly programming at five public high schools in the three geographically contiguous cities of Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls. Additionally, youth from other schools in Providence attend twice-a-week sessions.
Women’s Center of Rhode Island, Providence - $5,000
The Women's Center of Rhode Island’s (WCRI) program focuses on engaging young men. The goal is to help participants understand cultural norms, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that contribute to intimate partner and dating violence, and take action to prevent violence. WCRI has developed expertise in primary prevention through participation in the national Domestic Violence Prevention, Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) program. WCRI partners with community and educational organizations that serve young men, including Year Up Providence, City Year RI, New Urban Arts, the Urban Collaborative, Providence Community Action, RI Council of Churches, East Providence High School, and RiverzEdge Arts.
Women’s Resource Center, Newport - $7,500
The Women's Resource Center's Engaging Men in Domestic Violence Prevention program rallies men in the community around domestic violence prevention and engages and trains men to become intentional mentors and positive role models of healthy non-violent manhood. A Men's Engagement Coordinator and Director of Prevention will work with the Newport Men's Engagement Committee to build prevention capacity and to develop a community-wide men's engagement plan for Newport. The goals of the program will be to build capacity and develop a Men's Engagement Plan for Newport that is both theory-based and community-driven.
Reactions
“It is through our partnerships with business leaders such as Verizon that we are able to strengthen vital programs to significantly maximize our outreach efforts in ending domestic violence,” said Deborah DeBare, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “This grant will support the work of our Ten Men Project by giving our male allies additional resources to raise domestic violence awareness in men, and a platform to change the social norms and other behaviors that contribute to violence against women. That so many organizations were also supported, is a testament to Verizon's commitment and sends a clear message that together we can end domestic violence and sexual assault.”
“Verizon has a long history of using its technology and financial resources to invest in programs that help survivors of domestic violence rebuild their lives while raising awareness of the issue,” said Michele Cinquegrano, Regional Director of Government Affairs for Verizon. “The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the other domestic violence service providers across the state conduct critical work each day to prevent violence while advocating for the rights and safety of survivors. Verizon is proud to support their heroic efforts.”
About the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence
The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV) is an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence. The RICADV was formed in 1979 to support and assist the six domestic violence prevention agencies in Rhode Island. The organization also provides leadership to its six member agencies, strives to create justice for victims, and raises awareness on the issue of domestic violence in Rhode Island.
About the Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change by using the company’s innovative technology to help solve pressing problems in education, healthcare and energy management. Since 2000, the Verizon Foundation has invested more than half a billion dollars to improve the communities where Verizon employees work and live. Verizon’s employees are generous with their donations and their time, having logged more than 6.8 million hours of service to make a positive difference in their communities.
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