A P R I L 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 1

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

R U N / W A L K

R E C A P 2

R U N / W A L K

P I C T U R E S 3

S A A M 2 0 1 5 4

D O A N E C O L L E G E 5

N E W S T A F F 5

V I C T I M S ’

R I G H T S

C O N F E R E N C E

6

D O N A T I O N S 7

S E R V I C E S 7

FEBRUARY IS TEEN

DATING VIOLENCE

AWARENESS MONTH!

FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN

A ROW, HOPE CRISIS

CENTER VISITED FOUR

SCHOOLS TO LEAVE

COLORFUL SIDEWALK

CHALK MESSAGES

ABOUT HEALTHY

RELATIONSHIPS, DATING

VIOLENCE, AND SELF

ESTEEM

T D VA M

R E C A P

in·sight ~ (n) an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, esp. through intuitive

understanding

The Insight

Believing. It’s the heart of what we do

as advocates. We believe survivors as

they divulge their unbelievable tales of

abuse. And we believe in them when

no one else will. Mostly, we believe in

a future where violence is obsolete.

Believing is our fuel.

While it’s easy to get discouraged by

the barrage of bleeding headlines that

we see daily, the last few decades have

birthed tremendous progress in the

worldwide movement towards

non-violence. Even in our own small

corner of Nebraska, things are

changing for the better. College

campuses are revving up sexual

assault prevention and response (page

5), social media is fired up with

projects like #BelieveDontBlame

(page 4), and people from all walks of

life are engaging with our message as

we hit the streets for SAAM 2015. All

this hype has encouraged survivors to

speak out, and for the first time in

history people are really listening! As

far as I’m concerned, that’s

momentum worth believing in. By Mandy

T H E I N S I G H T

Run/Walk: 11 Years in the Books! For the 11th year in a row, Hope Crisis Center has hosted the annual “Put Your Down Against Sexual

Assault” Run/Walk in observance of April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Though it was damp and

chilly for most of the morning, the event still brought plenty of athletes, families, smiles, and awareness.

After a little socializing, a survivor’s story, and a prayer, nearly

100 participants got moving in the name of awareness.

Afterwards, everyone returned to the community building for

pancakes and great prizes, which were donated by a number

of generous businesses from the area (they are listed on page

7). This year was especially exciting because we received a

notable pledge amount of $855! We also received some very

generous freewill donations, which resulted in an overall profit

of $6097.40! We are so thankful for the participation and

support! We could not do our job, or host our events, without

our amazing communities! We hope to see you again next

year on April 23, 2016!

10K 1st Place

Ryan Loock 41.25

10K 2nd Place

Andy Rhine 42.03

10K 3rd Place

Tiffany Ebke 50.14

2 mile 1st Place

Dylan Starr 14.05

2 mile 2nd Place

Blake Starr 16.04

2 mile 3rd place

Auggie Judd 16.05

Top Pledges Amount

Collected

Mackenzie

Billesbach

$265.00

Judy Tracy $250.00

Jasmine

Snyder

$160.00

Top Runners Time

Page 2

Page 3

T H E I N S I G H T Page 4

SAAM: On The Street And On The Web

The month started out with 92 bags of

popcorn. For the second time, the rockin’

advocates of Hope Crisis Center popped up a storm

in the name of awareness at Traubel’s Popcorn

Stand in Beatrice. In addition to getting a snack

and a smile, customers also got a little bit of

information to kick off April’s Sexual Assault

Awareness Month.

The goal of SAAM is to raise public awareness

about sexual violence and to educate communities

on how to prevent it. Throughout April, Hope Crisis

Center has taken to social media to spread

awareness throughout our communities. One of

the ways we did this was by accepting the call of

The DOVES Program and implementing their

social media project, #BelieveDontBlame. We

took part in supporting the project by making a

sign, taking a picture, and sharing the message on

social media.

To keep the month going, we also took part in the

Denim Day 2015 movement to end sexual assault.

For the past 16 years, Peace Over Violence has run

its Denim Day campaign on a Wednesday in April

in honor of SAAM. The campaign was originally

triggered by an Italian Supreme Court ruling where

a rape conviction was overturned because the

justices believed that the victim must have helped

her rapist remove her tight-fitting jeans, thereby

implying consent. Since then, wearing jeans on

Denim Day has become a symbol of protest

against erroneous and destructive attitudes about

sexual assault. Learn more about Denim Day at

www.denimdayusa.org.

By Christina and Mandy

A New Face on Campus

Hope Crisis Center and Doane College have

teamed up by creating a partnership offering

students free and confidential sexual assault

services. Prior to this partnership, Hope Crisis

Center was already on campus doing different

awareness activities around the topic of sexual

assault and dating violence.

Cari, our Sexual Assault Advocate, will be on

campus from 8:30am to 1:30pm on Wednesdays in the College Career Center.

She will provide advocacy and support to sexual assault victims/survivors and

guide them towards all the resources available on and off campus.

By having Hope Crisis Center on campus, we hope to improve campus culture

by training students to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable

dating behaviors. By doing this, we hope to ultimately prevent violence from

occurring in the first place. By Cari

MEET GRACIELA...

T H E I N S I G H T Page 5

Hope Crisis Center is pleased to introduce our new Bilingual Victim Advocate,

Graciela! Graciela will cover Saline county and offer victim services out of our

Crete office. She is a native of Mexico and has been living in the United States

for eighteen years. She is the youngest of nine children and loves spending time

with her own four kiddos, who keep her very busy. She has a long history of

helping people in need and is looking forward to serving survivors of domestic

violence and sexual assault! Welcome, Graciela!

Where There’s Breath, There’s Hope…

On April 22nd and 23rd, I attended the 11th Annual Crime Victims’ Rights Training Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. This year’s conference was titled “Engaging Communities/Empowering Victims.” On the first day, we had a presentation by Todd and Jaimi Calfee. The Calfees shared a heartbreaking account of the beautiful day in September when their lives changed forever. In September 2011, Alexis Calfee and her boyfriend were killed by a repeat drunk driver. This story is especially disturbing because the man responsible for killing Alexis had previously been arrested seven times for driving under the influence of alcohol and had only been off probation for approximately twenty days. The Calfees also stated that this man had been allowed to return to his home upon his release from the hospital after the incident. The family had to request and insist that the perpetrator be incarcerated, despite local officials stating that they did not feel he was a threat. Now the Calfees speak out to schools and other area groups about the dangers of drinking and driving, as well as advocating for stricter punishments for repeated DUI offences.

During the first day, we also heard from Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON). Nancy Cardoza, a Domestic Violence Staff Attorney for JFON, spoke about the purpose of the U-Visa, as well as the barriers immigrant victims face when reporting crimes. We also heard from Gretchen McGill, the JFON Domestic Violence Access to Justice Attorney. Ms. McGill works with law enforcement, prosecutors, and social service providers on best practices in working with immigrant victims of crime. Ms. McGill explained how the U-Visa can be used as a tool to encourage the reporting of crimes and can further assist in the victim’s cooperation during the investigation.

Jean Brazda, the Executive Director for Sarpy County Victim Witness Unit and Diversion Services, also spoke at the conference regarding the use of a facility dog in a courthouse setting. Ms. Brazda discussed how Manny, their facility dog, assists victims of crime in Sarpy County. Ms. Brazda explained the role of a facility dog and how Manny is used to assist in the truth seeking process when working with crime victims, as well as assisting victims by bringing back a sense of normalcy and control. Ms. Brazda also shared information regarding how to start your own facility dog program.

On the second day of the conference we had a presentation from Tonier Cain. We started the day by viewing Ms. Cain’s documentary “Healing Neen.” This documentary describes Ms. Cain’s life story surrounding childhood abuse/neglect and trauma. For almost twenty years Ms. Cain hustled on the streets, desperately feeding an insatiable crack addiction and racking up 83 arrests along the way. Ms. Cain also experienced beatings and rape on a regular basis. During that time in her life, her home was either under a bridge or locked up in prison. In 2004, pregnant and incarcerated, she was provided the opportunity to go to a community trauma, mental health, and addictions program. Feeling safe for the first time in her life, Ms. Cain confronted her childhood memories of filth and hunger, sexual assaults by neighborhood men, and routine physical and mental abuse at the hands of her drunken mother. She realized for the first time that she had been a victim and she began to heal and reclaim power over her life, embarking on a remarkable ”upward spiral” that has had no limit. Today, Ms. Cain works for the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care, dedicating her life to being a voice for those still lost and still silent. Traveling the country, she gives speeches and works one-on-one with women in prisons and hospitals. Ms. Cain continues to transform her own life while helping others to embrace her motto, “where there’s breath, there’s hope.”

By Krista

T H E I N S I G H T Page 6

T H E I N S I G H T Page 7

Client Needs— Combatting violence and

supporting survivors is a community effort. If you would like to contribute to our cause, please consider donating items from this list: Tampons Toilet paper Paper plates Plastic forks Paper towels Twin size fitted bed sheets Kitchen trash bags—13 gal. Diapers size 5 & 6 or pull-ups

DONATIONS A big thanks goes out to everyone who donated during the months of January,

February, and March! We apologize if your name has been inadvertently omitted from

our list! American Lutheran Church—Fairbury, NE

Alpha Delta Kappa—Fairbury, NE Ashley Furniture—Beatrice, NE

Belvidere United Church of Christ Elaine Davenport—Hebron, NE

Crete Foodmart—Crete, NE Michelle Engel—Western, NE

Farmer’s Cooperative—Plymouth, NE First Christian Church—Fairbury, NE

Sue Fox—Fairbury, NE Husker Rehabilitation and Wellness—

Fairbury, NE Laura Gilbert—Crete, NE

Loveland Products—Fairbury, NE Steven Matthews—Blue Springs, NE

Phyllis McCown—Endicott, NE Mary Miller—Hebron, NE Sara Page—Fairbury, NE

Rock Creek Quilters—Fairbury, NE Carolea Roelfs—Fairbury, NE

Union Bank and Trust—Fairbury, NE St. Paul’s Lutheran Church—Diller, NE

Marvin and Eleanor Seggerman—Fairbury, NE

7th Day Adventist Church, Women’s Ministries—Fairbury, NE

Tri County Schools—DeWitt, NE Tyler and Beth Weishahn—Fairbury, NE

Zion UCC—Gladstone, NE

Thanks for supporting our event!

Hope Crisis Center would like to extend our sincere thanks

to all of the businesses, organizations, and individuals that graciously sponsored and

donated to our 11th Annual “Put Your Foot Down Against Sexual Assault” Run/Walk! We

appreciate your support!

Food Service Fabrication Westin Packaged Meats— Fairbury

Dirty Biz Laundry Hummer Contracting

Shelter Insurance American Family Insurance

Sam’s Club Beatrice Ford Lincoln, Inc.

American Legion Oregon Trail Riders

McLaughlin Construction L.L.C. Kris’ Connections—U.S. Cellular Blue Valley Community Action

Partnership Heartspun Flowers & Events

Casey’s—Fairbury Walmart— Fairbury

No Coast Derby Girls—Lincoln Bob & Wauneta Burkley Wellness

Center—Fairbury

Side Trek—Harbine

Farmer’s Cooperative—Fairbury Island Oasis—Grand Island

KUTT 99.5 MH Paint & Body—Fairbury

Walmart— Seward Chance’s R— York

Lost in Fun— Lincoln Shear Impressions— Fairbury

Valentino’s—Beatrice Lincoln Salt Dogs

Holiday Inn & Express—Beatrice Victorian Inn—Beatrice

Capri Inn & Suites— Beatrice Auto Zone— Beatrice

Botz Chiropractic—Fairbury Susan Seachord —Beatrice Farmer’s Cooperative Tire &

Vehicle Service Center—Fairbury Heartland Foods— Beatrice Farmland Foods Inc.— Crete

Starbucks— York Sunmart Foods— Beatrice

Union Bank & Trust Co—Fairbury M & D Auto Service— Fairbury Stanton’s Propane— Fairbury

Star Light Candles & Gifts—Beatrice

Lori Strouf— Swanton

2

4

137

984

178

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Adult*

Children*

Adults*

Emergency

Shelter

Total

Shelter

Nights

Crisis

Line

Calls

Direct

Services

Number Served

Serv

ices

Pro

vide

d

2015- First Quarter Client Services(January, February, March)

Find us on the web @

www.hopecrisiscenter.org

For Newsletter Information Contact:

Administrative Office

PO BOX 365

425 F Street

Fairbury, NE 68352

Phone: 402.729.2570

Fax: 402.729.2572

E-mail: chinman@hopecrisiscenter.org

Beatrice Outreach Office

Phone: 402.223.6635

Crete Outreach Office

Phone: 402.826.5727

Seward Outreach Office

Phone: 402-643-3056

Toll-Free Confidential Crisis Line

1.877.388.HOPE (4673)

www.hopecrisiscenter.org

http://nosilencenoviolence2.tumblr.com/

Find us on Facebook and Twitter

Hope Crisis Center is a non-profit

organization committed to empowering

victims of domestic violence and sexual

assault as well as our communities

through advocacy, education, and

confidential emergency services.

Heidi Gubanyi, Seward

Board President

Wendy Elston, Seward

Vice-President

Tyler Weishahn, Fairbury Secretary

Sandy Reikofski, Fairbury Treasurer

Katie Bevins, Lincoln

Member

Kim Robbins, Fairbury

Member

*If you would be interested in serving on Hope

Crisis Center’s Board of Directors, please contact

Carmen at our Administrative Office

402.729.2570

If you would like to receive this publication as an e-version only, please

e-mail Mandy at prevention@hopecrisiscenter.org with your request.

Please recycle - Share this Newsletter with others!

Board of Directors:

Carmen— Executive Director

Mindy—Program Manager

Cari—Sexual Assault Advocate/Victim

Advocate—Jefferson and Thayer

Counties

Mandy– Development Coordinator

Christina—Victim Advocate— Gage

County

Graciela—Bilingual Victim Advocate—

Saline County

Krista—Victim Advocate—York , Seward,

and Fillmore Counties

Heather—Victim Assistance Supervisor

Staff: