OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE 9/30/14:
“October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month, and to help raise awareness of the problem and the resources available to victims, Attorney General Mark Herring will be visiting Safe Harbor, a shelter and service provider in Henrico that serves the Richmond area.
At 9:30 AM tomorrow, AG Herring and his staff will be dropping off 47 medication lockboxes–one for every shelter in the state–after the shelters said they needed a way to help secure medications that victims may bring with them to a shelter. He will also be receiving a commemorative “peace begins at home” license plate, which supports the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance in their prevention efforts.
In 2013, 34% of all homicides in Virginia were related to domestic violence–134 homicides in all. The state’s domestic violence hotline receives more than 65,000 calls annually, and more than 20,000 arrests were made in 2012 for assault and battery against a family or household member. The state operates a number of programs to prevent domestic and sexual violence, as well as programs to support victims.
The Attorney General will also be available to discuss some of these important resources.”
Look for Safe Harbor on the news! We will post links and videos to press coverage of this event as soon as they are available.