As Micah's Place nears the end of its fiscal year, it is time to take account of our many accomplishments in service provision to battered women and children in Nassau County. Good stewardship of our resources is an important part of our commitment to our donors and our community.
This year Micah's Place saw a 24% increase in the number of women and children sheltered
offered 3,303 days of shelter in our 16 bed facility
provided 2,155 hours of counseling
answered 1,061 hotline calls
assisted with 1,899 safety plan
The Micah's Place court advocate and outreach advocate continue to assist individuals who do not need shelter services. They provided court accompaniment, information and referrals, safety plans and peer group facilitating to over 400 survivors this year.
Our community education and professional training programs were presented to over 2,500 individuals. These individuals were trained to identify the warning signs of domestic violence in a relationship and the resources available in our community and include our Dating Violence Education and Healthy Relationships programs for high and middle schools. Program materials created by Micah's Place and approved by the Nassau County School Board are now being used throughout the state by other domestic violence programs. Micah's Place continues to lead the way in innovative methods of sharing our message of non-violence with the establishment of the Family Violence Theater Troupe. This group of young actors, writers, and performers from West Nassau has lent their talents to many of our events.
Sadly we found that we could not accommodate 201 women and children in need of a safe haven. These survivors were placed outside of the county at one of our sister shelters.
Our recent accomplishments during the last fiscal year include
An effective campaign to mandate a GPS tracking system for abusers which alert victims when abusers violate an injunction for protection.
To help sustain our programs, our Purple Dove Resale Center was opened in March 2008 and although it is open to the public, its priority is to offer affordable or free shopping to survivors of domestic violence and their children; it also provides a venue for the talents of survivors who offer their work on consignment. County law enforcement is now implementing a lethality report which better identifies the severity of a domestic violence call in order to make an arrest if necessary.
An advocate was placed in the courts full time.
Our advocates encouraged our Clerk of Courts to immediately connect anyone filing for an injunction for protection with our court advocate; the victim is accompanied throughout the entire process, from assistance with filing paperwork to appearances in court.
Victims of domestic violence may decide to withdraw their injunction for protection; they are now required to take our "drop class" which informs them of their options should they proceed.
What do all these numbers really mean? Our work to end family violence in Nassau County is far from done. Micah's Place cannot provide these much needed services without you. Micah's Place is a partnership between the staff, volunteers, board of directors and YOU that will hopefully put an end to the terrible crime that is domestic violence.
