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Mayor Dyer, Police Chief Rooney and Harbor House Launch Initiative Aimed at Preventing Domestic Violence

Orlando, FL – August 23, 2011 – Today, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer joined with Police Chief Paul Rooney to announce It Takes Courage, a new partnership with Harbor House aimed at curbing domestic violence.

Over the last three years, incidences of domestic abuse have risen dramatically in the City of Orlando – more than 26 percent since 2008 with nearly 3700 domestic-related incidences.
And already in 2011, the number of domestic murders is double the number in all of 2010. To combat this troubling trend, Mayor Dyer and the Orlando Police Department have partnered with Harbor House to launch It Takes Courage - a domestic violence community education campaign to dramatically stem domestic abuse.

“We have been aggressive in our efforts to fight violent crimes at the street level and now we must turn our efforts to preventing the violence happening behind closed doors,” said Mayor Dyer. “If as a community we work to raise awareness of the warning signs of domestic abuse we can empower survivors to take control of their lives and create safer communities.”

Statistics show 1 in 4 people know someone in an abusive relationship and sadly the vast majority of victims never seek professional help. It Takes Courage aims to educate friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors of abuse victims on how to help before the situation escalates. With one call to the professionals at Harbor House (407-886-2856) you can help. Always call 9-1-1 first if someone is in immediate danger.

"Awareness and understanding the true nature of domestic abuse is the first step to ending it. Domestic abuse is taking a terrible toll on our city and I am honored to be working with Mayor Dyer and Chief Rooney on this important initiative, said CEO Carol Wick. "The combination of awareness efforts and outreach will save lives".

To learn more about how you can help prevent domestic violence, attend Harbor House’s free Domestic Violence 101 training: Recognize, Respond, Refer. It is open to the general public the first Tuesday of every month from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Marks Street Senior Center in Downtown Orlando.

Learn the Signs of Abuse:

You have the power to help your friends and family if you suspect they are involved in an abusive relationship. Your support may save their life. Look for these signs:

• Survivor’s social relationships are narrowed and they pull away from close people;

• Survivor changes their habits drastically:

  • Drops out of school;

  • Misses work or is late more and more frequently;

  • Starts to dress differently;
     

• Abuser puts survivor down, belittles, teases survivor, makes survivor the butt of jokes;

• Survivor is afraid and unwilling to talk or make eye contact; flinches often;

• Survivor has been injured, suddenly becomes accident prone or blames self for bruises;

• Changes in moods, such as sadness or depression;

• Survivor is sticking close to the batterer.

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