NEXT DOOR SOLUTIONS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PARTNERS WITH THE LOS GATOS/MONTE SERENO POLICE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE JOINT SERVICES TO RESIDENTS OF LOS

SAN JOSE, January 16, 2012 – Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence has been awarded $125,000 by the California Emergency Management Agency to work with the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department to provide joint services to victims of domestic violence in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno. Next Door was one of four domestic violence agencies statewide chosen to lead this innovative partnership between a domestic violence agency and a police department.

The joint project plans to train 48 law enforcement and 911 dispatchers to implement safe protocols for victims that also increase accountability of batterers. The joint partnership includes home visits by a fully trained domestic violence advocate for every time police officers are called to a domestic violence incident in their jurisdiction so that victims have immediate options that are safe for her and her children. The partnership expects to reach more than 70 individuals impacted by domestic violence per year, having already started the partnership in December of 2011.

“We are grateful to the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department for working on the cutting edge of domestic violence services with us,” said Kathleen Krenek, Next Door’s Executive Director. “This collaboration ultimately helps survivors of domestic violence obtain the customized services they need in order to make safe decisions for themselves and adds to the continuum of services that we provide in Los Gatos, including Next Door’s Los Gatos Support Group.”

“The Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department is thrilled to partner with Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence on this very important initiative,” said Captain Alana Forrest. “We have a long standing and excellent relationship with Next Door and are looking forward to enhancing our response to victims of domestic violence in our community.”

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About Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence

Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence began in 1971 out of the garage of a local San Jose women’s rights activist. Since then, Next Door has become the premier agency addressing the needs of victims of domestic violence and their children. Next Door seeks to end domestic violence in the moment and for all time by addressing all sides of the issue by helping victims to rebuild their lives, building resilience in children who are exposed to DV, and advocating for responsible policy change. To achieve its goals, Next Door provides innovative prevention and intervention services to diverse ethnic and low-income families in Santa Clara County (SCC), California, the majority of which come from San Jose. To learn more about Next Door’s programs, please visit www.nextdoor.org or call its Community Office at (408) 501-7550.

About The Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department

The Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department is comprised of 64 sworn and civilian personnel and over 150 community volunteers, committed to providing the highest quality service with a small town feel to its residents, businesses and visitors.  It works in three major areas to improve the department and its ability to serve the community by 1) building highly competent and professional police department providing traditional law enforcement services; 2) Building community relationships; and 3) Engaging in community problem solving. To learn more about the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department, visit us at 110 East Main Street, Los Gatos, CA 95030 or go online to http://www.losgatosca.gov/index.aspx?NID=127. You can also call us at 408-354-8600.

Click here for a copy of this press release.

For more information contact:                                                     For more information contact:
Next Door Solutions                                                                    Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department
Lisa Breen Strickland, Interim Development Dir.                         Sgt. Michael D’Antonio, Investigation Spvsr
(408) 655-3642                                                                            (408) 827-3209

The holiday lights and menorah are stored. The pine needles are vacuumed away, and the kids are back in school. Most of us had time to pause, take a break and enjoy. Not so, for those living with domestic violence.

In fact, this holiday season was particularly violent, starting with a tragic murder-suicide the weekend after Thanksgiving. That’s when Chris Shimek, a San Jose Police Department sergeant, strangled his wife Lynn and shot himself, leaving behind two teenage sons. Lynn had asked for a divorce just weeks before.

Prophetically, Rolanda Pierre Dixon, a retired Santa Clara County prosecutor and head of the county’s Domestic Violence Council, wrote an opinion piece for the San Jose Mercury News that appeared December 22. She reminded us “domestic violence doesn’t celebrate the holidays.”  In fact, many victims say the holidays increase the violence, according to Dixon, who wrote: “It doesn’t care if you are homeless or rich, gay or straight, male or female.” (http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19603130?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com)

Sure enough, a little more than a week later, on December 30, San Jose registered its 41^st and final homicide of 2011. A horrific domestic violence killing took the life of Yvonne Kirk, the 65-year-old mother of Minema Kirk whose same-sex marriage to Sagal Mohamod Sadiq had gone sour.

Sadiq, a Somali native and long-time nurse, is charged with using a machete to kill her mother-in-law in a bloody rampage.  Minema Kirk was said to be in Puerto Rico at the time of the slaying and had messaged her partner she was “done.” Of the 11 domestic violence-related killings in Santa Clara County in 2011, Sadiq is the only woman suspected of being the attacker. Her case goes to court January 19.

The common factor in both the Shimek and Kirk tragedies was a declaration the relationship was over. Domestic violence experts tell us the need for power and control is the primary motivator for violence directed against an intimate partner or their family members. And they say leaving is the time of highest risk for serious injury or death.

Reminder #1: Domestic violence doesn’t take a holiday. Domestic violence is an every-day, round-the-clock occurrence that may actually increase during the holidays – a time focused on families, relationships, joy and celebration.

Reminder #2: Leaving a troubled relationship characterized by abusive power and control can be a particularly risky (even lethal) proposition. In fact, Patty Bennett, Director of Program Services at Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, advises victims never to tell their partner they are leaving, or even thinking of leaving. If you or someone you know needs to escape an abusive relationship, call Next Door’s 24-hour hotline (408-279-2962) first. Domestic violence advocates answer the phones. They are experts in safety and escape planning. This is serious business. A life could depend on it.

SAN JOSE, CA—

Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, has granted Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence $40,000 for its Teen POWER Program, which will help eight San Jose youth leaders to implement teen dating violence outreach, prevention and education campaigns for their high school and middle school aged peers in San Jose. The POWER Program (Proud of Wanting Equal Relationships) seeks to change the perception of Teen Dating Violence from acceptable and inevitable to unacceptable, preventable and avoidable.

“Through this collaboration, Next Door and Verizon hope to stop the violence before it starts by raising awareness about the signs of teen dating violence, said Kathleen Krenek, Executive Director of Next Door. “By providing messages through social media and presentations to sports teams we hope to educate students that violence in a relationship is never acceptable under any circumstances.”

Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence has been offering culturally and linguistically specific domestic violence and teen dating violence services to San Jose and the greater Santa Clara County region for forty years through its emergency and transitional housing, support groups, crisis counseling, legal advocacy, and children and youth services. Next Door seeks to end domestic violence in the moment and for all time. Learn more at www.nextdoor.org.

The Verizon Foundation uses its technology, financial resources and partnerships to address critical social issues, with a focus on education and domestic violence prevention. In 2010, the foundation awarded nearly $67 million to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation’s largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered nearly 6 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the Verizon Foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

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FOR INFORMATION: http://www.nextdoor.org

Contact: jmarcus@nextdoor.org

When: September 6, 2011 – September 24, 2011 (Tuesday/Thursday evenings and Saturdays)

Download the schedule.

Where: Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence
234 East Gish Road, Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95112 (See Map)

Cost: $125 for Non-Domestic Violence Consortium members.

Please download and fill out the registration form.

The registration form must be received by Patty Bennett at the address above no later than August 22, 2011

You will hear from a staff member later in August to set up an informational interview.  Please remember that the deadline for us to receive the registration form is August 22, 2011.

Payment must be received by Margarita Alcantar no later than September 6, 2011.

Click here for more information, and FAQs.

If you have more questions, please call Margarita at 408-501-7553

Your feedback means alot to us!

Patty was also interviewed by KBAY’s Sandy Stec for her radio show on Sunday, October 3, 2010. Listen in here: NEXT DOOR SOLUTIONS OCT 3

We will publish the results next month!

We will publish the results next month!

I have worked with the issue of domestic violence for 25 years and thought I was immune from the heart-wrenching ache when seeing what one human being can do to another.  I learned I’m not.  Like many, I was drawn to yet sickened by the alleged tape recordings of Mel Gibson’s raging statements to his former partner and mother of his child.  Unfortunately, as distressing as the calls were, I found that nothing he allegedly said or did is unusual for a batterer. Frighteningly, the alleged Gibson rants are typical batterer behavior and reflect a high potential for lethality.  The calls indicate stalking – calling repeatedly, in this case, allegedly 30 times in one day, including in the middle of the night; attempts at sleep deprivation through phone calls; physical violence and threats of physical violence; access to weapons; degradation; and, finally, not-so-subtle threats of death and/or suicide. If we add drug or alcohol use to the mix, we have the perfect set-up for the final tragedy.

Whether the tapes are “doctored” or not, this case brings the issue of domestic violence into full view and begs examination.  Many have also questioned why these tapes have come to the public in the first place; they are, afterall, private conversations. However, as many a victim can attest, the reasons are simple, to have these tapes in the public serves to keep Oksana safe; otherwise, with all of his resources, who would believe that Mel Gibson was capable of such violence?

Domestic violence occurs every day across our county, state and nation.  It even happens repeatedly and in epidemic proportions in teen dating relationships. Why do victims stay in such relationships?  The answers are found in abusive behaviors frequently used by battering partners.  Typically, there’s a dependence on the batterer for living essentials and threats to take away those essential needs, such as housing, financial assistance and the big one:” I will get our child because no one will believe you.” Another typical behavior is repeatedly telling the victim he/she is worthless and cannot support his or herself, which tears at self worth and esteem.  Also typical are attempts to cause severe emotional trauma with statements such as “You are a slut, you dress like a slut, you act like a slut,” and obsessively using vulgar terms and attacking the victim’s personhood and gender. These attacks serve to humiliate and degrade.  The intended effect of these behaviors is to immobilize the partner, and it often works.

These activities behind close doors not only affect the victim and their children, they hurt our entire community.  We spend countless dollars on specialized courts and prosecutors, law enforcement, domestic abuse services, jails, prisons, health care institutions, and even our educational system with children who come to school carrying what they saw.  Let’s take this opportunity to rid our community of this social malady.  If you feel compelled to take action, call Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence at 408-501-7550.  If you identify with the descriptions of these behaviors call 408-279-2962 (24-hour hotline).  Whether you are a victim, a perpetrator or an interested member of our community, a place exists for you in this struggle to end domestic violence.  Just call.