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Every year during the month of February, victim service providers and community advocates work together to spread awareness for teen dating violence. According to loveisrespect.org, 1 in 3 teens in the U.S. will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from an intimate partner before they become adults. When college age students are examined, “nearly half (43%) of those who identify as college women report experiencing violent and abusive dating behaviors.”

At Waypoint, we believe that housing and homelessness, domestic violence, poverty, and access to quality child care are community issues that must be addressed with dedication and support from the community at-large.

Every year, Waypoint works to spread awareness about the importance of healthy relationships to ensure that everyone, both men and women, young and old, know that they are enough and are deserving of love and support. Waypoint hosts the Gentleman Campaign© every year in October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Did you know that October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month? During this time, Waypoint hosts the Gentleman Campaign© in an effort to raise funds and awareness to end domestic violence. The campaign was established in 2013 in an effort to recognize the “true gentlemen” in our communities who are willing to stand up against violence.

2020 has been a rough year for everyone, including Waypoint. Despite the chaos that the beginning of the year brought, Waypoint is grateful for the dedicated staff, volunteers, and community members who made the following accomplishments possible in fiscal year 2020. Waypoint is hopeful that this momentum will continue throughout the remainder of 2020 so those in crisis can continue to receive they support they need to move forward.

So many factors make it difficult for survivors to move forward from an abusive relationship, but Waypoint’s Victim Advocates are available to provide advocacy, resources, and support to allow each individual to learn and grow in ways that best fit their unique situation and needs.

Many domestic violence victim service providers are expecting an increase in need for their services as COVID-19 continues to impact communities across the country. As businesses closed and stay-at-home orders were put in place, survivors of domestic violence faced a heightened risk of abuse if they were at home with their abuser and increased financial difficulties as many people were forced to apply for unemployment.