St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, Manhattan131 E. 10th St. New York,
NY
10003United States+ Google Map
The Duluth Creator Wheel. Click on the Image or on the link in the right sidebar to visit the Duluth Model website for this and other invaluable resources.
Research shows that 7 out of 10 victims of domestic abuse start seeking help from their religious community.
One in four women in the United States is a victim of domestic abuse at some time in her life. Domestic violence cuts across all divisions of class, race, and ethnicity. Often it is a hidden issue in the church, because it is rarely preached about. Rarely are there indications on church websites or on bulletin boards that this is an issue of concern. As a result there are no signals to a victim that this is a safe place to go for counsel and support.
Domestic Violence isn’t just about physical or sexual abuse. It is about humiliation, intimidation, isolation, threats to hurt children and pets, threats to call child welfare to have children removed. It is first and foremost about Power and Control.
Women and men who are being abused need to know that they can find a safe place in our congregations to make their needs known. We have to send them signals that we understand what they are going through and we are there to help.
Resources
Here (below and in the right-hand menu) are links to online resources as well as downloadable copies of some critical items that can be helpful in beginning a ministry to address this need.
Connect NYC
Connect , which is based in New York City, was founded by several veterans of the domestic violence movement who recognized that among domestic violence services, prevention work was virtually non-existent and that while the availability of direct services for survivors had improved over the years, the prevalence of domestic violence had not diminished. Today, we’ve created programs to work on three levels: individual, community and systemic. Click here or on the link in the right-hand menu to visit the Connect website.
