WOMEN HELPING WOMEN TO DELIVER STATE OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN THE REGION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Data To Illuminate The Epidemic, Growing Need to Corporate Leaders, Elected Officials; Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber to Keynote
CINCINNATI, OHIO - October 14, 2019 –– Women Helping Women (WHW), the leading regional resource for the prevention of gender-based violence, will present national and state implications on local victimization issues in our community, schools and workplaces at its 3rd Annual Corporate Breakfast on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at Hyatt Regency Cincinnati. Women Helping Women is consistently serving an increasing number of survivors and continues to establish innovative programs for the prevention of gender-based violence – despite national, regional and local funding reductions. Over 300 community leaders including elected officials are attending the event.
WHW will detail the latest metrics of progress made in the last year with innovative programs, including the influx of support received by WorkStrong™, a recently established workplace-based program that trains employees on recognizing the signs of gender-based violence. WorkStrong™, unveiled in 2018, has been championed by numerous local organizations including 84.51°, Rhinegeist, The City of Cincinnati and Greater Cincinnati Foundation, among others. In addition, WHW’s DVERT™ (Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team) program executed in partnership with the City of Cincinnati Police Department, continues to provide trained advocates to offer support to survivors at the scenes of local domestic violence reports, 365 days a year.
In 2019, WHW has experienced the trickle-down impact of reduced allocations resulting in $121,500 less in funding, which equates to 900 DVERT™ runs. “Through September 2019, we have seen a record number of gender-based violence survivors seeking support through Women Helping Women’s programs and services, while we are simultaneously experiencing an overall reduction in funds that support the services we offer,” said Kristin Smith Shrimplin, President and CEO of Women Helping Women. “With continued funding cuts at all levels, community leadership and business partnerships are critical to ensure that survivors of gender-based violence are supported and prevention programs are championed,” she continued. Corporately, 84.51° will be named WHW’s 2019 Corporate Engagement Champion, recognizing the company for visionary leadership in the corporate community and partnership with WHW to prevent gender-based violence and support all survivors in the workplace.
Mary Stagaman, Vice President of Inclusion, CincinnatiUSA Regional Chamber, will keynote the breakfast with a strong message of business and community responsibility in working together to prevent and end gender-based violence, and its impact on the workplace. D. Michael Sheline, Section Chief-Crime Victims, Ohio Attorney General’s Office will share the remarkable impact that WHW’s groundbreaking DVERT™ program has had, and how the innovative program could serve as a model to be replicated throughout Ohio in collaboration with law enforcement.
In 2018 Women Helping Women served 14,197 clients, including survivors, youth in prevention education and professionals being trained. As of September 2019, WHW’s DVERT™ program served 2,012 adult survivors and 1,990 children in high risk domestic violence incidents in partnership with the City of Cincinnati Police since its launch in February 2018. WHW’s WorkStrong™ program has trained more than 500 area company employees since it was launched in November 2018. Employees report a 224% increase in their knowledge of resources for survivors and a 112% increase in skills in preventative bystander intervention techniques. In 2018 alone, WHW experienced an 83% increase in LatinX survivors accessing services and a 44% increase in total hours of services provided to survivors. WHW continues to be one of the most innovative resources of its kind in the nation, boldly seeking new opportunities to prevent gender-based violence, while supporting all survivors.
ABOUT WOMEN HELPING WOMEN
Women Helping Women (WHW) is a 501(c)3 organization founded in 1973 to serve women and men who are survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking in Southwestern Ohio. WHW empowers survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking by providing advocacy, support, and options for safety while educating the community to create social change. The agency provides crisis intervention services including hotline, hospital accompaniment, court advocacy, support groups, and face-to-face advocacy for abuse survivors and also conducts training and education in the community to increase awareness of these crimes and aid in their prevention. Funded in part by the United Way, WHW serves more than 12,000 people, including survivors and their children, annually. For more information, visit www.womenhelpingwomen.org.
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