The Junior League of San Jose does an “Extreme Makeover” of our Kids Club room
Over a dozen volunteers from Junior League of San Jose (JLSJ) showed up for the “Extreme Makeover, Nonprofit Edition” which took place on March 10 at Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence in San Jose, California.
Their mission was to organize, rearrange, and clean the Kids Club, a classroom-like space where kids who have been exposed to domestic violence are encouraged to play, learn, and harness their creativity through arts and crafts. Kids Club helps children ages 5 – 12 increase their emotional resiliency, develop non-violent conflict resolution skills, cultivate safety, and provide assets that will help them avoid future risks. When they arrived, the room was brimming with old games, books, and art supplies.
The JLSJ team, led by event co-chairs Laurel Sevier and Monika Krach, contributed over 42 hours of volunteer service to help with the cleaning and reorganization. They transformed the once conventional play space into one a space that enhances creativity, healing, and development for those children served by Kids Club. The new and improved Kids Club now includes a reading nook for little ones who want to curl up and read a book, a homework area, and a larger seating area where kids can engage with one another and explore their feelings through art. In addition, it includes a new selection of puzzles and games. A big THANK YOU goes out to our JLSJ volunteers.
The Junior League of San Jose is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. For more information on joining the Junior League of San Jose, please visit www.jlsj.org.
Here is what our Kids Club looked like after the Junior League volunteers were done!
Marital rape victim challenges alimony pay
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) – A woman who was raped by her husband is asking California legislators to change a law so she and other sexual assault victims don’t have to pay alimony to their rapists.
There was no happy ending for the marriage between Shawn and Crystal Harris, a couple from the San Diego area. It ended in divorce after he was convicted of sexually assaulting her and sentenced to six years in prison. One attack was caught on tape.
“He also choked me, beat me and threatened to kill me, all while our two preschool age boys were awake upstairs,” Crystal Harris said.
The successful financial analyst recounted that horrible night four years ago to lawmakers, hoping they’ll change the law. A family court judge ordered her to pay her ex-husband $1,000 a month in alimony upon his release, plus $47,000 in attorney fees.
“It mattered not that being ordered to pay my husband’s spousal support every month amounted to making a rape victim write a check to her own rapist every month,” Harris said.
A California judge said he couldn’t order no spousal support in a 12-year marriage where the husband made $100 a month and the wife made $11,000 a month. Harris says she feels victimized twice.
There’s already a state law that prohibits spousal support when the significant other is convicted of attempted murder. Assemblywoman Toni Atkin’s bill would add sexually violent felonies to that, something the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists opposes.
“We should not be adding crimes to this section,” Jill Barr with the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists said. “We seem to be going down a slippery slope and one wonders where we will draw the line ultimately.”
Barbara Bentley championed the 1995 California law banning alimony and retirement pay after her husband tried to kill her. She can’t believe how 17 years later, courts haven’t learned from her case.
“Unfortunately, we have to fight for every little scrap of progression in the laws,” Bentley said.
The committee approved the bill 6-1 with bipartisan support. If it’s signed into law, Harris will still have to pay her ex-husband’s $46,000 legal bill, but he would not be eligible for spousal support.
See the whole story at KGO’s website.