FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                          Contact: Karen Ross
(631) 329-4398
kross@theretreatinc.org

 EAST END HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAMS

RAISES AWARENESS FOR TEEN DATING VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

East Hampton, NY (February 6, 2012) – Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is a national effort to raise awareness about abuse in teen and 20-something relationships and promote programs that prevent it during the month of February. Now in its third year, Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is celebrated by leaders in government, student bodies, schools, youth service providers, community-based organizations, and parents.

The Retreat is privileged to be partnering with Southampton, Shelter Island, Ross, Pierson, and Westhampton Beach High Schools to increase awareness about the issue of Teen Dating Violence as 1 in 5 teens between the ages of 11-14 reported that their friend(s) are victims of dating violence.   In keeping with the momentum of The Retreat’s new federal initiative of engaging boys and men in preventing violence against women and girls, we are collaborating with boys basketball teams to help us raise awareness about Teen Dating Violence.  The teams will wear purple socks with the Retreat logo to show support and raise awareness.

“The Retreat has a great deal of respect for the coaches and young men of all of the participating High Schools for joining in the movement.  It is our hope that this public show of support will encourage other young men in the East End to take a stand and help to stop the violence towards women and girls.” –Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director, Retreat

About Retreat

The Retreat, domestic violence services agency, since 1987, has been a community-based, not-for-profit agency that provides domestic violence services and support for victims of domestic crimes on eastern Long Island and beyond.  Retreat provides a wide array of direct services, including five core services of Crisis Hotline, Domestic Violence Shelter, Legal Advocacy, Counseling, and Domestic Violence Prevention Education.  The Retreat’s mission is to provide safety, shelter and support for victims of domestic abuse and to break the cycle of family violence.

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

The Retreat will present a Spanish staged reading of “Soy Maria” at Guild Hall 
Spanish language theatre is used to create dialogue on the topic of Domestic Violence

 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.

TROUBLED FATHERS ACROSS SUFFOLK COUNTY TO BENEFIT FROM FEDERAL GRANT AWARD
Domestic violence agency to spearhead community-level collaboration

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.

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NEWS RELEASE                                                   September 12, 2011

Contact: Christina DeLisi (631) 852-8400

 LEGISLATOR JAY SCHNEIDERMAN DISTRIBUTES SURPLUS BLACKBERRY MOBILE DEVICES TO THE RETREAT

Pictured from left to right:  Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director of The Retreat; Jennifer Palmer, Director of Development at The Retreat and Legislator Jay Schneiderman

 Legislator Jay Schneiderman (I-Montauk) sponsored Resolution 618-2011, Authorizing the Transfer of Surplus Blackberry Mobile Devices to the Retreat, Inc. The legislation was unanimously approved at the August 2^nd Suffolk County Legislature’s general meeting.  “I am pleased I was able to assist The Retreat in obtaining 15 surplus cell phones.  The phones will be provided to clients for use in case of an emergency,” said Legislator Schneiderman. The Retreat’s mission is to provide safety, shelter and support for victims of domestic abuse and to break the cycle of family violence.  In pursuit of their mission, The Retreat annually provides help for thousands of families.  The Retreat Hotline is the important critical first step, the highly trained staff, answer the hotline to help client 24 hours a day seven days a week at 631-329-2200.

For more information about The Retreat or if you are a victim of family violence, call for help. 24-Hour Hotline (631) 329-2200, Administrative Office (631) 329-4398, email: services@theretreatinc.org.

Representing the South Fork, Jay Schneiderman is the Suffolk County Legislator for the Second Legislative District. He is also chairman of the County Legislature’s Public Works and Transportation Committee. For more information, or to arrange an interview, please call (631) 852-8400.