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Maryland Domestic Violence Victims will
get Improved: Health Care Services Through new Training
NNEDV Releases Annual Census of Domestic
Violence Services
Maryland Network
Against Domestic Violence Wins Celebrating Solutions Award:
Lethality Assessment Program-Maryland Model Recognized by the
Mary Byron Project
Domestic Violence Doesn’t Take a Holiday
New Court Watch Program
Forming in Maryland:
Volunteers Needed!
Maryland Domestic Violence Victims will get Improved
Health Care
Services Through new Training
Statewide Domestic Violence Coalition is Awarded Grant to
Provide Health Care Training
12 health care facilities to
receive training with Verizon Foundation grant
Maryland (statewide), June 20,
2011—The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) will
provide free domestic violence training for approximately 300
health care professionals at 12 facilities around the state
during the coming year, thanks to a grant from the Verizon
Foundation.According to Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell at Johns Hopkins
University, 44% of women murdered by an intimate partner visited
an emergency room in the preceding two years. Many domestic
violence victims seek medical services for injuries, chronic
pain, and routine check-ups, and are oftentimes not screened for
domestic violence. Screening can provide early identification
and intervention to help reduce injuries and decrease health
care costs.
MNADV trainings give health care providers the knowledge and
expertise they need to improve their standard of care for
victims. Participants learn specialized techniques for working
with patients, such as the use of effective strategies and
guidelines for identification, screening, documentation, and
referrals.
MNADV trainer, Amy Johnson,
will help trainees understand the prevalence, dynamics, and
social and medical impacts of domestic violence and provide them
with the set of skills to deal with this difficult issue with
their patients. “We, at the MNADV, are so grateful to Verizon
for recognizing the importance of our training efforts in the
health care setting and how it translates to expanded care for
abused victims. As more health care professionals become aware
of domestic violence as a public health issue, the demand for
specialized training continues to increase. This funding will
allow us to meet the demand.”
In 2010, Johnson trained over
500 health care professionals in domestic violence, including
doctors, nurses, and health department personnel. Michaele
Cohen, MNADV executive director, said, “We are thrilled to have
been the recipient of Verizon’s generosity. Medical settings are
major entry points for domestic violence victims seeking
assistance. This training can help the medical community become
more astute in its response to these individuals.”
These trainings are conducted
in collaboration with the Maryland Health Care Coalition Against
Domestic Violence, which is a network of professionals who work
to provide leadership within health care and promote an
effective response to domestic violence.
For more information, contact Michaele Cohen, Executive
Director, Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence at
301-352-4574 or
mcohen@mnadv.org.
Download the press release in PDF.
NNEDV Releases Annual Census of Domestic Violence Services
Every year, domestic violence programs throughout the U.S.
participate in "DV Counts," a census that captures how many
domestic violence services were provided to victims and
children, what types of services were provided, and how many
people were turned away for services. In Maryland, ALL the
domestic violence programs participated!
Download the Maryland Fact Sheet
To view other states' fact sheets, or
the national report,
go here.
Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence
Wins Celebrating Solutions Award:
Lethality Assessment Program-Maryland Model Recognized by
the Mary Byron Project
The Maryland Network Against
Domestic Violence’s (MNADV) Lethality Assessment
Program-Maryland Model (LAP) was selected as one of four 2010
national recipients of the prestigious Celebrating Solutions
Award given annually by the Mary Byron Project. Marcia Roth,
Executive Director of the Project, lauded the LAP for its
outstanding work. “We received almost 300 applications
throughout the United States. Our national review team felt that
Maryland’s program shows promise in moving beyond crisis
management to provide answers every community should use in
ending the epidemic crime of domestic violence. It is an
outstanding organization and program.”
The Mary Byron Project created the Celebrating Solutions Awards
to showcase and applaud local innovations that demonstrate
promise in breaking the cycle of violence. They select programs
that can serve as models for the nation and offer $10,000 cash
awards in recognition of their pioneering efforts.
The Mary Byron Project was established in 2000 in memory of the
young woman whose tragic murder led to the creation of automated
crime victim notification technologies. As a nationally
recognized thought leader on domestic violence, the Mary Byron
Project cultivates and supports efforts that extend beyond
crisis management to attack the root causes of this epidemic and
help build safer, healthier communities.
“We are deeply honored to have had the LAP showcased
as an innovative model for the nation,”
said Michaele Cohen, MNADV’s
Executive Director. “It’s an easy and effective
program that identifies victims of domestic violence who are at
risk of being seriously injured or killed by their intimate
partners and immediately connects them to the domestic violence
service provider in their area. The goal of the LAP is to
prevent fatalities by increasing the number of victims that
access and use domestic violence program services.”
The Lethality Assessment Program-Maryland Model has grown from
one participating law enforcement agency and domestic violence
service provider in October 2005 to 106 law enforcement programs
and 20 domestic violence service providers statewide.
Jurisdictions in 11 other states around the country have
implemented the LAP.
The LAP is a dynamic initiative that can be used by a diversity
of community professionals. It brings together community service
providers in all disciplines as empowered partners with the
collective goal of keeping victims alive. The Celebrating
Solutions Award highlights the LAP’s simplicity and
effectiveness in addressing the nation’s pressing concerns
regarding the high incidence of domestic violence fatalities.
For more information about the Mary Byron Project and the
Celebrating Solutions Awards, visit
www.marybyronproject.org.
Download the press release is Word.
Learn more about Lethality Assessment
Program-Maryland Model
Domestic
Violence Doesn’t Take a Holiday
The holidays should
be a wonderful time of year for children and grown-ups alike.
It’s the time of the year to build positive memories with family
and friends and rejoice in the spirit of the season. However,
the season can hold a dark reality for many families. While the
winter holidays are supposed to bring out the best in people, it
can bring out the worst in abusers, with victims experiencing
threats, verbal and emotional abuse, or physical violence.
Domestic violence does not stop for the holidays. Whether
families are celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Nicholas,
Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Navidades, Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day,
Boxing Day or New Year’s, the holidays can be inherently
stressful. But for families who are already dealing with
domestic violence, the holidays can exacerbate the problem as a
result of seasonal demands such as the financial strains of
gift-giving, time pressures, activity overload, and increased
alcohol consumption. Despite the popular myth, the stressors
of the holidays do not cause
domestic violence, but they can intensify an abuser’s existing
behavior. While the stress of the holidays can be a factor
in the escalation of an abusive situation, the fact is, most
individuals who are under a great deal of stress are never
abusive.
In relationships where there is domestic violence, children
witness about three-quarters of the abusive incidents. About
half the children in such families have themselves been abused.
These incidents cause anxiety and distress during what is
supposed to be one of the merriest times of the year for them.
Instead of visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, the
children in these families may struggle with nightmares and
flashbacks. The holiday gift they long for most is safety.
The holidays can be especially challenging for families
escaping from domestic violence. These families are often in
transition and don’t have the resources to provide the kind of
holiday cheer they’d like. Many families will spend the holidays
in the safety of a domestic violence shelter where they arrive
with just the clothes on their backs and not much else. For
them, “home for the holidays” means being away from the house
they live in and other loved ones, and trying to keep the season
as normal and joyful as possible for their family members.
Buying gifts for their children is often out of the question.
Many domestic violence programs
host holiday parties for their shelter residents and sponsor
adopt-a-family programs for non-shelter residents to ensure that
victims and their children have gifts and food for the holidays.
They depend on the generosity of the community to help these
families. YOU can bring a smile to abuse victims and their
children during the holidays by making a donation to your local
domestic violence program. Visit the Maryland Network
Against Domestic Violence
website to find the listing
and contact information for the domestic violence service
provider serving your community.
Download the press release in Word
New Court Watch Program
Forming in Maryland:
Volunteers Needed!
Court Watch Montgomery
is a new, all-volunteer organization being launched in Montgomery
County. Volunteer observers will collect data in the
County's District Court protective and peace order hearings
to ensure victims of domestic violence receive appropriate
protection and offenders are held accountable for their
actions. Volunteers are needed to monitor these restraining
order hearings. For more information about the
upcoming Volunteer Open Houses and Court Watch Montgomery
trainings, please
call 301-681-6620.
Volunteer monitors
can help keep domestic violence victims safe!
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