FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT:

Estelle Brouwer, Exec. Director651-726-5215ebrouwer@wadvocates.orgwww.wadvocates.org

Break the cycle of violence. Join Women’s Advocates in observing Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

ST. PAUL (September 18, 2017) – Women’s Advocates, established in 1974 as one of the first domestic violence shelters in the nation, will observe National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October by encouraging community members to do what they can to stop domestic violence. Through its outreach and education programs and partnerships, Women’s Advocates will make an extra push in October to get the word out about domestic violence prevention and intervention and ways to break the cycle of domestic violence.

A national study released this year shows that one in three U.S. women has been or will be a victim of domestic violence in her lifetime (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention). Studies also show that a woman will try on average seven times to leave an abusive relationship before she leaves for good (National Domestic Violence Hotline, 2013), and that women are 70 times more likely to be killed in the two weeks after leaving an abuser than at any other time during the relationship (Domestic Violence Intervention Program, 2014). But there is also reason for hope. Access to a radio, computer, or mobile phone can help women reject domestic violence as a norm (American Journal of Public Health, 2017). And the concern that many abusive men have about the effects of violence on their children can motivate them to stop using violence (Futures Without Violence, 2008).

Women’s Advocates is seeking opportunities to share these and other messages about breaking the cycle of domestic violence. If you work in a school, bank, hospital, clinic, salon, dentist or veterinarian office, human resources department, faith institution, retail business, or any other setting involving direct contact with another person, you can become the first step to safety for a victim of domestic violence. Women’s Advocates is available to provide free violence prevention and intervention trainings in your school or workplace.

Executive Director Estelle Brouwer pointed out that Women’s Advocates has a long history of supporting women as they recover and create a safe future for themselves and their children. “Providing shelter in the midst of the storm of violence is at the heart of our mission. But as an organization dedicated to eliminating violence in the lives of women, children and families, we also have a responsibility to address violence in the community -- its causes, signs, and symptoms and ways to prevent it. That’s the only way we’ll ever get on top of this tragic, persistent problem.”

To request a domestic violence presentation, visit http://www.wadvocates.org/presentations/ or contact Meggie Royer, education and outreach coordinator, at mroyer@wadvocates.org. If you need shelter, call Women’s Advocates’ 24/7 crisis line at 651-227-8284. About Women’s AdvocatesWomen’s Advocates is a safe place where women and their children of all backgrounds and cultures can escape domestic violence and begin to heal. In addition to providing shelter to those who are homeless as a result of domestic violence, Women’s Advocates provides personalized support, advocacy, education, and resources to hundreds of women and children every year. Women’s Advocates offers shelter, meals, clothing, transportation, personal needs items, counseling, support, advocacy, referral, crisis phone and other basic services to women and their children daily. More information at www.wadvocates.org.

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