Women Empowerment Week in Montclair

Montclair Women Empowerment week was created in collaboration with the Montclair Center BID to help raise awareness about the Family Service League/SAVE of Essex County agency. It cultivated relationships with local businesses in Montclair, especially women-owned businesses, for these businesses to collect donations for rape care packages and/or monetary donations. These are all essential to promote the women empowerment that we all must embrace and very much respect.

“As part of the events for the week, we will be hosting an event at the Clubhouse in Montclair on Tuesday, July 26 as well as a yoga in the garden fundraiser on Thursday, July 28 at 6:30 p.m.,” said Christine Ferro-Saxon, LCSW, Executive Director of Family Service League/SAVE of Essex County.

SAVE of Essex County is a program of Family Service League and is the state of New Jersey’s designated rape care center for Essex County. The office is located in the United Way Building, 60 South Fullerton Ave., Suite 109, in Montclair, but they serve all of Essex County. SAVE operates a 24-hour hotline for victims and their families which can be reached at 1-877-733-CARE (2273), and provides victim accompaniments through medical and legal proceedings. They also facilitate sexual violence prevention education to schools, colleges and community based organizations, provides counseling to victims and their significant others.  SAVE was in jeopardy of closing this year due to an acute shortage of funding.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2012, nearly one in five (18.3 percent) of women and one in 71 men (1.4 percent) reported experiencing rape at some time in their lives. Sexual violence is a significant problem in the United States. It is important to keep in mind that anyone can experience this. The perpetrator can be, but is not limited to, a friend, coworker, neighbor or family friend.

There is a four-step approach to address public health problems like sexual violence:

1. Define the problem
2. Identify risk and protective factors
3. Develop and test prevention strategies
4. Assure widespread adoption

The ultimate goal is to stop sexual violence before it begins. For more information about our program, visit www.familyserviceleague.org. Please remember the SAVE of Essex County Hotline: 1-877-733-2273.