By Amy Batista, Special Writer
EAST WINDSOR – Mayor Janice Mironov proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month during the township council meeting Oct. 13.
“This is Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” said Mayor Mironov. “We have made it a tradition every year, more than a tradition, a strong value of our township, to recognize domestic violence at one of our council meetings and to focus on the importance of the subject.”
Mayor Mironov was accompanied by Womanspace Executive Director Patricia Hart and East Windsor Township Police Chief Harry Marshall, who helped proclaim Domestic Violence Awareness Month as they recognized the work of Womanspace and the Domestic Violence Victim Response Team.
The mission of Womanspace is to prevent abuse, protect families, and change lives through empowerment and a safety net of supportive services, according to its website.
“It is really important that we shine a light on the subject and this problem and we let the victims know that there are resources. There are individuals here to help them out and there is support and there is a way that they can get the kind of structure that will allow them to lead a different type of life,” said the mayor. “Obviously our police department is on the front lines in our community in many of these situations.”
She said that East Windsor has long enjoyed a strong and effective partnership and collaboration with Womanspace and among all the municipalities.
“(It is) really due to the tremendous efforts, great resources, the partnership and training that is offered to our communities by Womaspace,” she said.
She said the reason that the township is so involved and so dedicated in terms of its partnership with Womanspace is that domestic violence exists in all of our communities throughout New Jersey and beyond.
“Many people for many years have suffered in secret and have allowed abusive behavior to go unresponded to without support,” she said.”I think it’s really important that we make it clear to people who are caught in these types of situations that they have hope, that they have opportunities, and that there are resources here that can help them,” said the mayor.
Womanspace Executive Director Patricia Hart was presented with a proclamation in honor of the occasion.
The East Windsor Domestic Violence Victims Response Team and Womanspace have provided a coordinated community response that has served hundreds of local residents during its years of operation. It has improved many lives in the community by advocating the importance of victim safety as well as accountability for abusers, according to the proclamation.
The continued commitment to human service by East Windsor Township through its Domestic Violence Victim Response Team and Womanspace visibly demonstrates to residents and surrounding municipalities that domestic violence is unacceptable and contrary to the welfare of the entire community, according to the proclamation.
Ms. Hart thanked the mayor and the police department.
“It’s really nice that after all this time that East Windsor is still saying, wait a minute, we want to recognize that this is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and we have a great team,” said Ms. Hart. “I like your tradition and being part of your value system,” she said.
She said that each of their volunteers goes through 80 hours of training then respond 24/7 through the police departments to support victims.
“So in a year’s time our teams will see about 800 victims, those are people who might never have come through our door. That’s incredible number of people that volunteers are helping,” said Ms. Hart.
She said that this year the organization is training a group of deaf volunteers.
“We are starting our first deaf advocacy program were we are training deaf volunteers to respond to police departments or to other places where deaf victims have a heard time being heard,” she said. “This is unique in the state. There is actually probably 10 in the entire country.”
Chief Marshall thanked the mayor and council for recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Particularly for doing it in a way that highlights the many efforts and contributions of Womanspace,” Chief Marshall said.
Anne Ciemnecki, of East Windsor, and a volunteer for Womanspace, said she was really proud to be there and has been a part of the team from the beginning.
