By Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Three local field hockey teams out of Hillsborough High School took some time from their love of the game to share some love with another group of women and their families in their time of need., Earlier this month, the Hillsborough High School Girls Field Hockey Teams at the freshmen, junior varsity and varsity levels worked together to collect and donate boxes of toiletries and school supplies to Safe+Sound Somerset, an organization aimed at helping survivors of domestic abuse., “The teams wanted to do something in addition to the annual Pink Games which support breast cancer and we decided to do something literally in our front yard, with Safe+Sound,” Head Coach Barrie Foley said., Safe+Sound Somerset, located on Homestead Road in Hillsborough, works to “empower survivors of domestic abuse and engage the community to break the cycle of violence.”, Domestic abuse is defined by Safe+Sound Somerset as a “pattern of incidents of controlling, threatening, degrading and violent behavior by a partner” that can take form in many ways, including “emotional, physical, sexual, and financial” abuse.”, According to Safe+Sound Somerset, approximately one-in-four women and one-in-seven men will experience some form of domestic violence in their life, with just 25 percent of all physical assaults committed by intimate partners being reported to the police., The group also estimates that there are 1.5 million high school students experiencing physical abuse in a dating relationship every year, nationwide and “at any given moment, 42,000 individuals are suffering in a domestic violence relationship” in Somerset County., For Junior Varsity Captains Lauren Alexander and Stephanie Wickman, who were both on hand to deliver the items to the organization, the opportunity to help out a local cause was well received., “It was great to be able to help an organization so close to home,” Alexander said., With their effort now in the books, the younger field hockey teammates are looking forward to providing continued support for the shelter., “As freshmen, we look forward to doing this every year,” freshman Captain Jena Myers said.
