The Charleston Job Corps Center (CJCC) operating under Horizons Youth Services (HYS) recognized Domestic Violence Awareness month with a guest speaker on October 10, 2016 during Monday Business Meeting. Students and staff received a presentation by Kenyatta Grant, Community Organizing Coordinator, WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Grant informed students and staff, “Domestic Violence can happen to anyone. It does not discriminate based on race, class or gender.” The WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence has resources to assist individuals and families across the state. Grant stated, “It’s not just the individual that goes through domestic violence, but the family is affected.” Grant encouraged attendees, “Help bring awareness to domestic violence beyond October, because it happens every day.” She informed the audience of warning signs of domestic violence and how to get help.

According to coalitions website www.wvcadv.org Facts and statistics regarding domestic violence include:

• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
• On a typical day, domestic violence hotlines receive approximately 21,000 calls, 15 calls per minute.
• Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
• The presence of a gun in the home during a domestic violence incident increases the risk of homicide by at least 500%.
• 72% of all murder-suicides involved an intimate partner; 94% of the victims of these crimes are female.

Charleston Job Corps Center has prominently displayed a purple wreath in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please contact the WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence (304) 965-3552. If this is an emergency, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

Job Corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16-24 improve the quality of their lives through career technical and academic training. Job Corps is in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Charleston Job Corps Center is overseen by the Philadelphia Regional Office of Job Corps and is operated by Horizons Youth Services.