Protecting Against Domestic Abuse

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month in North Hempstead. That’s according to officials from the town, which recently formed a partnership with The Safe Center LI.

The Safe Center LI supports victims of domestic violence as well as child and adult victims of sexual assault and severe physical abuse, said Kaitlyn Pickford, the organization’s assistant director of education.

“Our mission is to break down the barriers to getting help,” Pickford said at an Oct. 1 Town Hall reception, where the new partnership between the organization and the town was announced. “The hope is to raise awareness in North Hempstead so that we will be seen as a local resource.  We all have to work together for the victims of abuse.”

Officials point out that domestic violence is a pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence.  It can include physical, emotional, psychological, financial, and or sexual abuse.

The Safe Center LI hotline is (516) 542-0404, and operates 24 hours per day and seven days per week for domestic violence victims.  It received approximately 6,500 calls in 2012 from victims of domestic abuse, officials said.

Among other services such as counseling, The Safe Center LI offers the only safe home in Nassau which houses up to 15 individuals at any given time in a communal living arrangement.

Free literature in English and Spanish featuring resources for victims of abuse and sources of help will be available at North Hempstead’s “Yes We Can” Community Center on Garden Street in Westbury, and at North Hempstead’s Town Hall in Manhasset.

The Safe Center LI has been formed as a result of the ongoing merger of the two non-profits, the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Coalition Against Child Abuse and Neglect.

Affordable Care Act Information

If you missed the recent Town of North Hempstead presentation on the Affordable Care Act, take heart. Much of the information is available online.

Held at the the Harbor Links Club House in Port Washington, the free seminar focused primarily on the details of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and explained to employers and business owners what they need to know to comply with the new law. 

The seminar presentations are posted online on the town’s Business & Tourism Development Corporation website.