Combat Center initiates Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Photo By Cpl. Thomas Mudd | Michelle Bergey, deputy district attorney, Office of the District Attorney, San Bernardino County, speaks during the Domestic Violence Awareness Month Kick-off Event at the Family Advocacy Program building, Oct. 1, 2015. (Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Thomas Mudd/Released)  

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, UNITED STATES

10.01.2015

Story by Lance Cpl. Thomas Mudd 

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - The Combat Center’s Family Advocacy Program held a Domestic Violence Awareness Month kick-off at the FAP building, Oct. 1, 2015.

Approximately 30 people from the Combat Center and the surrounding communities attended the event as an opportunity to learn various strategies to prevent domestic violence. Some of the organizations in attendance were the Child Development Center, Families OverComing Under Stress, San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, FAP and Morongo Basin Unity Homes.

“The purpose of today was to bring all these different entities from the community and the base together and kick-off the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” said Michele Godfrey, prevention education specialist, FAP. “This event also allows for these different offices to make some connections for future projects.”

Domestic Violence Awareness month started in 1981 and takes place every year during October. Throughout the month, people are educated on the different types of domestic violence and how to prevent them.

“We wouldn’t be able to do our job without the different resources from both on and off the installation,” Godfrey said. “We hope to bring all the different groups together so we can put a stop to domestic violence.”

During the kickoff, Michelle Bergey, deputy district attorney, Office of the District Attorney, San Bernardino County, spoke to explain the purpose of her office and a few words of encouragement to those in attendance.

“It is awesome to be here and see that we are not the only ones fighting for the people of domestic violence cases,” Bergey said. “People often ask, ‘Why do you care about the little cases, where there are no bruises or blood?’ We do it because the matter only gets worse if we don’t stop it.”

Domestic Violence Awareness Month began as a way to decrease the amount of domestic violence cases throughout the country. The Combat Center takes this month as an opportunity to teach Marines and sailors how to prevent domestic violence and about the resources available to them.

“All the people who work in these programs are here to help the families on base,” said Allen Sackett, program manager, FAP. “We try to teach the different things that people often overlook that are actually domestic violence.”

For more information about domestic violence awareness contact the FAP office at 760-830-6345. If you suspect that someone has become a victim of domestic violence please contact a victim advocate using the 24/7 help line 760-362-9837.

• Date Taken: 10.01.2015
• Date Posted: 10.07.2015 20:36
• Story ID: 178386
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US