Title
Declaring October as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month."
Body
WHEREAS, "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" is being sponsored locally by Women Against Abuse and, through their sponsorship, they are encouraging everyone to help to increase the awareness of domestic violence in our homes and communities and decrease its negative impact on Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, In 2015, the Philadelphia Police Department responded to more than 100,000 domestic-related calls and domestic violence is not just a local problem but a national issue where more than three women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Founded in 1976, the mission of Women Against Abuse is to provide quality and compassionate services, in a manner that fosters self-respect and independence in persons experiencing intimate partner violence and to lead the struggle to end domestic violence through advocacy and community education; and
WHEREAS, 2016 marks the 40th Anniversary of Women Against Abuse, founded as a part-time domestic violence hotline in a neighborhood women's center, Women Against Abuse has served as a pioneering voice for change - opening Philadelphia's only emergency safe haven for domestic violence in 1977, launching one of the first legal centers in the nation dedicated to the needs of survivors of domestic violence, establishing the region's first transitional housing program for survivors in 1987; and continually adapting to the changing needs of people experiencing relationship abuse, including partnering with the Philadelphia Police Department and tripling the number of domestic violence victims receiving free representation for a protection from abuse order by stationing attorneys directly in Philadelphia Family Court; and
WHEREAS, Women Against Abuse, in partnership with Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Lutheran Settlement House's Bilingual Domestic Violence Program and Women In Transition, the Philadelphi...
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