MOUNT VERNON – Thanks to the generosity of The Community Foundation of Mount Vernon & Knox County and Harcourt Parish Episcopal Church, New Directions – the Domestic Abuse Shelter and Rape Crisis Center of Knox County – has increased the security it offers its residents. “The Community Foundation and Harcourt Parish both have supported our organization for many years,” said New Directions’ Executive Director, Matt Hellman. “With this current money, they have helped ensure that the adults and children, who come to New Directions fleeing domestic violence, are better protected.”
The Community Foundation awarded New Directions a $2,669 grant to add four exterior security cameras to their building. Community Foundation Executive Director Sam Barone said, “Our board members were pleased to provide this extra margin of safety and security to New Directions residents who are coping with serious personal and family crises.” Harcourt Parish awarded a $1,150 grant – with proceeds from its annual rummage sale – for New Directions to update their current security system, including adding windows onto the system.
New Directions is also highlighting several awareness months and events. January is concluding as Stalking Awareness Month. One in four women and one in 13 men will be victims of stalking in their life, and of those, three-fourths will be victims of violence, including physical violence and/or sexual assault. February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner per year, with one quarter of high school girls having been victims of physical or sexual abuse or date rape.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. At the national level and locally at New Directions, there is an emphasis on the role that bystanders, including men, can play in helping stop sexual assault. This approach gives community members specific roles that they can use in preventing sexual violence, including naming and stopping situations that could lead to sexual violence before it happens, stepping in during an incident, and speaking out against ideas and behaviors that support sexual violence. Also, April 19-25 is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This year, the focus is on reaching and supporting all victims with the theme Engaging Communities, Empowering Victims.
As the Rape Crisis Center for Knox County, New Directions answers crisis calls to its 24-hour hotline, accompanies victims of sexual assault at the hospital, and facilities the county’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). New Directions will have events throughout April, including a 5k color run on April 26 and its Annual Fundraiser Dinner on April 30, 6pm, at Ariel Arena, Mount Vernon Nazarene University. For more information about these happenings, as well as how to get involved with New Directions’ groups including the Delta Committee (community members who plan and implement intimate partner violence prevention activities), TAC (Teen Advisory Council, grades 9-12) and TIME (This is My Example, men’s group) New Directions can be reached at (740) 397-4357 and its website is www.newdirectionsshelter.org.
