Cherokee County Domestic Violence Task Force

Meeting Reminder for 5/11/12

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:06:02 -0400

Please join us for our monthly meeting featuring a special presentation from

GREG LOUGHLIN

Executive Director of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence who will be providing us with a LEGISLATIVE UPDATE.

We will be discussing new laws passed in the prior legislative session as well as policy and legislative issues that affect family violence cases in our area.

Task Force members will also make policy recommendations to be referred to GCFV’s Legislative Committee for consideration. This gives us a direct voice that could impact laws to be introduced to the State of Georgia next year.

We will also discuss expanding our Law Enforcement “Roll Call” Training initiative throughout Cherokee County.

May 11, 2012

12:00-1:30

(networking from 12-12:30)

Downtown Canton, Historic Courthouse, Second Floor

Feel free to bring your lunch and a friend!

NCVRW was a success, thanks to you!

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:35:03 -0400

We are still recovering from a very eventful National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, but are confident that the increased awareness of victim services in our area will be well worth our efforts. We want to extend our sincerest gratitude to the Office for Victims of Crime and the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators for providing funding to the Task Force to hold events throughout the week and to provide materials on victim services for distribution throughout our community. We wholeheartedly believe that our events truly mirrored this year’s NCVRW theme “Extending the Vision: Reaching Every Victim.” Additional Thanks go to Kathy Fulton and the staff of McStatts Printing, who again offered their creativity and tireless work ethic in developing our printed materials.

We would also like to thank everyone that generously donated food and beverages for our Victim Impact Panel including Goshen Baptist Church, Kevin Williams and Chick-fil-A of Riverstone, R&M Sandwich Shoppe, the Committee to Elect Shannon Wallace for District Attorney, SuperTarget of Canton, Cherokee Family Violence Center, Adriana Mathews, and an Anonymous Donor. We also wish to recognize our survivor speakers Katy, Brandi, and Jerri again, for bravely sharing their perspectives so that others could learn from their experiences as victims of crime, as well as Josh Nation for facilitating the panel.

The Task Force would also like to extend thanks to the agencies that allowed us to provide their staff training and materials last week. We appreciate our friends at Canton Police Department including Chief Vandezande and Officer Stewart, at Holly Springs Police Department including Chief Ball and Detective Bettis, at Woodstock Police Department including Chief Moss and Brittany Duncan, and at Cherokee County Department of Family and Children Services including Deanna Liber and Brenda Baker.

We also appreciate Carmel Elementary School, Ms. Parker, Ms. Ryan, Ms. Borg and their students for creating artwork with this year’s theme “Extending the Vision: Reaching Every Victim” and allowing us to display their works during last week’s events.

Of course none of the events would have been successful without the dedicated members of our Task Force, who worked tirelessly to make the week run smoothly. Whether in planning, set-up, execution, or take-down all of your efforts deserve applause! Special thanks go to the following Task Force members for their diligent efforts to make National Crime Victims’ Rights Week 2012 a success: Jim Bell, Jessica Benenati, Heather Carter, Caitlin Crolley, Kara Chagnon, Tommie DeGonzague, Whit Frost, Sara Grainger, David Haley, Barry Hixson, Vivian Keller, Niki Lemeshka, Traci Lingefelt, Josh Nation, Deanna Oulette, Shelley Redden, Pilar Sarmiento, Adrian Smith, Emily Smith, Misty Sheffield, Rebekah Shelnutt, David Simmons, June Sullenger, Chris Ulm, Sheri Vaughan, Chastity Warren, Shannon Wallace, and Lisa Williams.

We hope to carry our momentum forward into the coming months and look forward to having many new faces we met throughout the week at our upcoming events.

Photo

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Don’t forget that tomorrow is the day for the Victim...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:57:07 -0400

Don’t forget that tomorrow is the day for the Victim Impact Panel. This is always a great opportunity for members of the community to come together in support of victims of crime. We hope you will join us at 12:00 in the Historic Courthouse for the event, which will be held in the old courtroom on the 2nd floor. Lunch will be served to the first 100 individuals that arrive, so make sure to get there early!

You can also share or RSVP for the VIP on our facebook page.

We had such a great time with the Officers from Holly Springs...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:50:03 -0400

We had such a great time with the Officers from Holly Springs Police Department on 4/25/12 in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. The Officers were as appreciative of the pass-out cards and materials on Domestic Violence that we brought them, as we are of the work they do to serve victims of crime in Holly Springs.

Two roll call trainings took place at Woodstock Police...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:42:56 -0400

Two roll call trainings took place at Woodstock Police Department on 4/25/12 as part of the Task Force’s community awareness projects for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. We appreciate all of the hard work these officers put in every day and know they make great use of the new materials that were provided to them.

Two shifts at the Woodstock Police Department received accurate...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:48:00 -0400

Two shifts at the Woodstock Police Department received accurate and up to date materials on victim services today. Cherokee County Domestic Violence Task Force members also provided materials on domestic violence during the trainings held as part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. The Task Force will return to Woodstock PD tomorrow to provide the same information to the rest of the Department’s staff.

The artwork created by students at Carmel Elementary School for...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:12:00 -0400

The artwork created by students at Carmel Elementary School for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is now hanging in the Historic Courthouse in Canton. The children drew pictures in NCVRW’s 2012 theme “Extending the Vision: Reaching Every Victim.” The artwork will be judged on Thursday and the children who made posters that best represent the theme will receive recognition from the Task Force. The children did a tremendous job this year, so drop by and check out their work this week.

We had a great time today at the Cherokee County Department of...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:40:00 -0400

We had a great time today at the Cherokee County Department of Family and Children Services! Task Force members held a lively and informative training about domestic violence for child protective services, foster care, eligibility, and administrative staff of the agency. The training focused on barriers to victims fleeing abuse, and the group of close to forty participated in an activity during which they were forced to make difficult decisions about leaving an abusive relationship. DFCS staff was also provided information on local victim services organizations and materials that they can pass out to victims at the time they make contact. We appreciate DFCS inviting us to their office for the training held in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and look forward to welcoming them to our meetings in the future.

Task Force Members presented a roll call training to officers...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:44:13 -0400

Task Force Members presented a roll call training to officers and staff at the Canton Police Department this morning and presented them with information and materials about victim services in Cherokee County and domestic violence. This training session was one of nine scheduled with law enforcement this week, in honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week has officially begun...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:34:54 -0400

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week has officially begun here in Cherokee County! Tonight, Task Force members presented a roll call training to Holly Springs Police Department on victim services and provided them updated referral and contact information for local victim service providers. We want to thank HSPD for all of their service to victims, and are looking forward to seeing the rest of their officers later this week.

From the Cherokee Ledger-News: Local events set to commemorate Crime Victims' Rights Week

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:57:38 -0400

From the Cherokee Ledger-News: Local events set to commemorate Crime Victims' Rights Week:

By: Jessica Wagner

Published: 17 April 2012

After evaluating the most efficient way to reach crime victims, the Cherokee County Domestic Violence Task Force is teaming up with local law enforcement for this year’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, slated for April 22-28.

Working jointly with first responders, the task force will help victims gain knowledge about services that are available to them, including help with case management, support groups, transitional housing and legal advice.

“We are very optimistic that getting the information to first responders will have a huge impact because so many victims do not know what services are out there,” Cherokee Family Violence Center (CFVC) legal advocate and task force chair Niki Lemeshka said.

Lemeshka said it was imperative for law enforcement to hand out information on scene because many victims do not go forward with the legal process in fear of retaliation or losing their livelihood if they are reliant on their abuser.

“There might also be a level of love,” she said.

All next week, task force members will provide the information packets for law enforcement and the Department of Family and Children Services during roll call.

Formed in 1992, the task force is composed of judges, prosecutors, advocates, law enforcement, medical professionals, educators, as well as citizens and survivors of crime. The force’s goal is to address intimate partner violence and formulate a solution.

“The task force’s mission is to strength and sustain the coordinated community response to intimate partner violence in Cherokee County by promoting systemic change; providing ongoing and evolving education and awareness to the community at-large; enhancing victim safety; and increasing perpetrator accountability,” Lemeshka said.

This year marks the third year the task force has received federal grant funding from the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators through the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to promote crime victims’ rights.

The task force, which was one of 82 organizations selected for funding, plans to engage the community next week through numerous “Community Awareness Projects” focused on the national theme: “Extending the Vision: Reaching Every Victim.”

“Members of our community are encouraged to help promote justice through services to crime victims by joining our activities and supporting victim assistance programs throughout the year,” Lemeshka said.

A victims’ impact panel is once again on the agenda for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. During the victim impact panel luncheon slated for April 26, victims of impaired drivers, sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking will share their powerful experiences.

“It helps us hear from someone who has experienced abuse and how the system worked for them,” Lemeshka said.

OVC Acting Director Joye Frost said it is community projects like the impact panel that helps saves lives.

“Recent studies show that too many crime victims and survivors do not avail themselves of many services in our communities that can help them through very devastating experiences,” Frost said. “National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is our opportunity to support public awareness of crime victims’ rights and the critical, often life-saving, services provided by thousands of programs across our nation to help crime victims.”

Also on the agenda next week is an art contest conducted with local elementary school-aged children.

“It’s a proactive attempt to reach victims,” Lemeshka said. “We talk to them about the importance of talking to adults about possible crimes.”

For additional information on the task force or projects planned for next week … e-mail niki@cfvc.org. For more information on the CFVC, visit cfvc.org. English and Spanish-speaking hotlines are open 24 hours and can be reached at (770) 479-1703 (English) or (770) 720-7050 (Spanish).

Mark your calendars: Victim Impact Panel, Thursday 4/26/12 at...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:05:12 -0400

Mark your calendars: Victim Impact Panel, Thursday 4/26/12 at 12:00, Historic Courthouse in Canton, Georgia

In accordance with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, a Victim Impact Panel will be held on 4/26/11, during which crime survivors will share powerful life “stories.” The event will be held as a lunch and learn, featuring those impacted by crimes including impaired driving, sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.

Please join us for our monthly meeting featuring a special...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Please join us for our monthly meeting featuring a special presentation from Traci Fisher from Pronto Trak regarding GPS Monitors and Family Violence Offenders

March 9, 2012, 12:00-1:30

(networking from 12-12:30)

Downtown Canton, Historic Courthouse, Second Floor

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month! You can find...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:03:01 -0500

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month! You can find out more about this important issue at teendvmonth.org. This month, we hope you will join us for the meeting on Friday, February 10th. During this meeting, we will be crafting posters for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Please bring any craft and art supplies you have handy for this great cause. Poster boards will be provided. The meeting will run from 12:00-1:30 and, as always, will be held on the 2nd floor of the Historic Courthouse in Canton.

Treat yourself to lunch and join the Cherokee County DV Task...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:15:25 -0500

Treat yourself to lunch and join the Cherokee County DV Task Force at Dos Margaritas for an end of year social.

12/9/11 12:00-1:30

Dos Margaritas
1558 Riverstone Parkway
Canton, GA 30114

Hope to see you there!

Public safety briefs | Cherokee Ledger-News

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:08:57 -0400

Public safety briefs | Cherokee Ledger-News

We had a great meeting on 9/9/11. Those that attended dusted...

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:14:59 -0400

We had a great meeting on 9/9/11. Those that attended dusted off their arts and crafts skills and put the final touches on our awareness activity for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. Task Force members will be asking local businesses to post a notice that they support ending domestic violence for the duration of October. These will be available for pickup the last week of September.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next meeting on Friday 10/14/11. The meeting with feature a presentation by Amy Economopoulos of the Anna Crawford Children’s Center.

Thanks to everyone who came out for today’s networking...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:46:00 -0400

Thanks to everyone who came out for today’s networking lunch. We had a great group, received some exciting news from a very special guest, and made some new connections with our allies. We are already looking forward to our next meeting on September 9th!

Please Join us for an Extended Networking Session Treat...

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:11:16 -0400

Please Join us for an Extended Networking Session

Treat yourself to lunch and

Get to know your colleagues

Discuss pressing issues

Review upcoming Task Force events

August 12, 2011 12:30-1:30

Dos Margaritas

1558 Riverstone Parkway

Canton, GA 30114

Bringing a friend and/or coworker is encouraged.