Wayne County’s Victims Intervention Program needs your help.
The Honesdale organization strives to educate the community on the crimes of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
These are tough and touchy topics but this organization is willing to spread the message that their arms are open to help those who have been victimized.
They are willing to speak at engagements and workshops. They’ve set up age-appropriate programs to children from preschool through Grade 12. They are tackling important issues such as body safety, bullying and dating violence.
Programs are also available to colleges, community groups, educators, police, hospitals, healthcare providers, churches and private citizens.
And this program also has a hotline in place. It’s a phone number where people can call for help.
This is where help is needed the most.
Volunteers, who staff the agency’s 24-hour crisis hotline, are in short supply.
The VIP staff handles calls between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. But calls off hours is where volunteers are needed. This is when people need help during the evenings, weekends or holidays.
Domestic violence and sexual abuse can strike at any time, any day or night. These crimes do not take holidays.
This organization needs help to console victims. If you are interested in volunteering, you will receive the proper training to help people during their time of need. You can call the VIP’s volunteer coordinator at 253-4401.
For those who have been victimized, it’s important to get help. This organization provides confidential services to female, male and child victims and survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual abuse and other serious crimes.
The numbers on domestic violence are alarming:
• One in four women will experience domestic violence during their lifetime.
• About 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually.
• Sixty-four percent of women and 16.2 percent of men who reported being raped, physically assaulted and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend or date.
• Victims often stay in abusive relationships because they fear the abuser, have nowhere else to go, love the abuser’s non-violent side, believe the abuser will change, fear economic instability or feel family and social pressure.
Domestic violence is a crime and must be addressed.
The Victims Intervention Program, located in Honesdale, is here to help you. It’s business number is 570-253-4431. The hotline is 570-253-4401.
Don’t let this crime go unpunished. It is against the law for any family to victimize another household member.
This organization is offering support. We can help them too by volunteering.
Lending a hand just might save a life.
