Retreat domestic violence agency collaborates with leading youth-focused organization

East Hampton, NY (January 30, 2012) – Boys aged 12 to 18 living on eastern Long Island known to be at heightened risk of committing violent acts, especially against girls and women, will soon receive evidence-based mentoring under a new program made possible by foundation philanthropy.

The program – which reduces violence perpetrated by young men by using positive role models and interactive techniques early to redefine the meaning of masculine “strength” – will be carried out by two nonprofits with significant leadership roles in Suffolk County, The Retreat domestic violence services agency and Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York.  The funder, the Long Island Community Foundation, is a division of the New York Community Trust.

“We are grateful to the Long Island Community Foundation for recognizing the importance of violence prevention and for dedicating critical resources to begin the engagement of our area’s boys while they are at ages that respond especially well to interventions like this,” said Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director of The Retreat.  The Retreat is the project leader and direct recipient of the grant funding.

The foundation-funded project draws upon a national model with a 10-year history of success, called MOST Clubs (Men Of Strength).  The proven mechanism of positive change central to the model is a relentless focus on re-framing and (re)defining masculine strength in a more progressive, life-supporting, and violence-averse manner than the local culture’s current default.  The model introduces inspirational and motivational content along with culturally credible role models to prompt troubled boys to actively adopt new attitudes and behaviors by their own choice.

The funded project was designed to help prevent bullying, cyber-bullying, dating violence, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and all other violence. It aims to break cycles of violence that pass from one generation to the next.

Those male youth most likely to receive attention and services from the program are those facing a history of any of the following: (a) witnessing violence in the homes they’ve lived in; (b) shifting frequently among foster homes (usually not by choice); (c) affiliation/association with gangs or temptation by gangs that provide social approval–but also dangerous rituals and behavior modeling through peer pressure; and (d) living in pockets of poverty, disconnected from many services.  Such factors, especially when more than one is present, have been shown to elevate the chance of young males acting out violently, particularly in the absence of early intervention.

“This project represents a major breakthrough,” said Mr. George Grigg, the Superintendent of Schools of Little Flower, “particularly because it is a community-level approach that unites the expertise of our organization in identifying, reaching, and engaging troubled youth with the Retreat’s expertise in preventing violence through education, mentoring, counseling, and the use of evidence-based models.

Background:  For 25 years, the Retreat has provided comprehensive domestic violence services and education to families and school children on the East End of Long Island.  For nearly 80 years, Little Flower has provided safety and care for thousands of abused and neglected children and teens of all races and religions. Little Flower Union Free School District educates day students from various school districts and the residents from Little Flower Children and family Services. This grant was made possible, in part, by the Greentree Foundation Fund and the Miracle-Gro Fund, unrestricted funds at the Long Island Community Foundation. The Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) is the Island’s community foundation, making grants to improve our region and helping donors with their philanthropy since 1978.  LICF identifies current and future community needs, strengthen the Island’s nonprofit sector, encourage philanthropy, and, with generous donors, builds permanent endowments to address these needs. More than $130 million has been granted from hundreds of funds established by individuals, families, and businesses. LICF is a division of The New York Community Trust, one of the country’s oldest and largest community foundations. For more information, visit www.licf.org.

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East Hampton High School Football Team receives a Proclamation from Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman for raising awareness of Domestic Violence at their last home game on Oct. 29th

East Hampton, NY (October 18, 2011) – With the focus on so many other worthy causes this month, many may be unaware that October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. One in four women will be affected by domestic violence in their lifetime and that’s something that cannot be ignored.  In fact, as of this month, the Retreat has already surpassed the number of hotline calls received in 2010.  Demand for services continues to increase as government and private funding decrease.

With these staggering statistics growing, the Retreat is honored to have the East Hampton High School Football Team dedicate their last home game, on October 29, to raise awareness for domestic violence by donning purple shoelaces during the game.  Football Coaches will also be wearing purple shirts to support the work of the Retreat within the community.  

“The Retreat applauds the coaches and athletes of East Hampton High School for standing up against domestic violence.  Their participation in this event is a true testament to their integrity and character.  They are true role models for all men in our community.” –Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director, Retreat 

“As coaches and educators we strive to instill life lessons on character and responsibility, the East Hampton football program is proud to team up with The Retreat to help raise awareness of this ever present problem and help teach our players another valuable lesson on what it means to be a ‘real man’.”   – Bill Barbour, East Hampton High School Varsity Head Coach

The Retreat encourages the community to attend Bonac’s last game and to wear purple to champion the cause and help raise awareness of this silent epidemic.  The Retreat is also privileged to have Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman in attendance, who will briefly address fans at halftime on the importance of student participation in ending the cycle of domestic violence.

“We are all products of our environment.  The messages we receive as children within our homes, schools and communities, form the basis of what we view as acceptable and unacceptable behaviors.  I am pleased that the East Hampton High School Football team is using their stature within the school community to help convey the message that violence is unacceptable behavior.” – Legislator Jay Schneiderman

 As part of Domestic Violence Awareness month, The Retreat in association with The Naked Stage will be featuring a new play written and directed by Minerva Perez, Shelter Director at The Retreat. The play, “Soy María”, will be done as a staged reading entirely in Spanish.

The play will be in Guild Hall’s John Drew Theatre on October 25th at 7:30pm. After the reading, a talk back will be moderated by Retreat staff in Spanish. This event is free and open to the public. No reservations will be accepted. There will be no translations at this event but there will be a brief libretto available to read before the event.

Ms. Perez (AKA Minerva Scelza) was a co-producer of the VDay performance that featured Blythe Danner, Brooke Shields, and Julie White. Ms. Perez also recently directed a staged reading of Federíco Garcia Lorca’s classic, “La Casa de Bernarda Alba” in its original language.

“Breaking the silence is one of the most important ways to save lives and change behaviors and expectations. In all communities there are myths around Domestic Violence. By extending this theatrical dialogue into the Latino community, we have a chance to challenge many of those myths” said Ms. Perez, Shelter Director, The Retreat.

This is the second Domestic Violence awareness event that The Naked Stage has hosted. Last year, Josh Perl, founder of The Naked Stage, supported a reading of “Extremities” to help raise awareness around Domestic Violence.

East Hampton, NY (October 6, 2011) – Low-income fathers across Suffolk County who struggle with unemployment, relationships in crisis, and deficits in skills and resources will receive unprecedented assistance in becoming more capable fathers, with lower risk of abusing women and children. 

On Tuesday, the federal Office of Family Assistance awarded a three-year grant to The Retreat nonprofit domestic violence services provider to enable implementation of its proposed Suffolk County Fatherhood Initiative, a collaboration uniting The Retreat, the Suffolk County Probation Department, Stony Brook University, and the Children’s Museum of the East End in a community-level effort to reduce abuse of women and children.

“This federal award is revolutionary because it’s the first of its kind on Long Island to approach the problem of domestic violence from a focus on effective fatherhood and providing men with skills, resources, and tools proactively,” said Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director of The Retreat.  “At a time when dollars toward preventing domestic violence are short, this responsible-fatherhood grant will have incredible impact on human lives.

The Initiative will provide skill-building education in parenting; healthy marriage/relationship counseling; and job-readiness and employment assistance for low-income fathers who have experienced involvement with the criminal justice system.

Earlier this year, The Retreat inspired federal funding from the Office on Violence Against Women to Long Island to support a visionary multi-media campaign to focus on engaging men, especially those addicted to alcohol or drugs, in the process of reducing domestic violence.  The Retreat is currently spearheading that project. That grant was equally unprecedented.

For more information on either grant award, please call Karen Ross at (631) 329-4398.