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Una conferencia encabezada por Miss San Luis, Melany Enríquez, y un llamado a alzar la voz para denunciar ese problema social marcó el inicio de octubre como el Mes de Concientización sobre la Violencia Doméstica.
The Yuma Police Department has received nearly $10 million in long-awaited federal funding, and Chief Tom Garrity explained how the agency is spending the grants from the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.
The agency received almost $9.3 million for equipment and supplies used in border security operations and a $500,000 anti-human trafficking grant for supplies and training to be used in collaboration with Amberly’s Place and the Sheriff’s Office.
The department is allowed to use the border security funds for personnel and fringe benefit costs, travel for education and other intelligence training equipment.
Kicking off its annual Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign, Amberly’s Place distributed magnetic purple ribbons and window decals to area law enforcement agencies Friday morning.
Each agency sends a marked patrol unit to receive the magnets and decals for all their vehicles.
“This event is a crucial initiative aimed at raising awareness about domestic violence and fostering a supportive community dedicated to its prevention,” noted Trevor Umphress, director of development. “Domestic violence affects countless lives, and together, we can make a difference, together we can stop the cycle of abuse.”
Amberly’s Place Family Advocacy Center has been dealing with a number of child abuse and domestic violence victims, and the summer high temperatures don’t helping.
“Absolutely, the heat is impacting domestic violence and family violence,” said Executive Director Tori Bourguignon. “It’s a huge factor. People are hot and tempers are short. They’re struggling to pay their air conditioning bills. The combination of financial stress and the heat is contributing to all kinds of calls.”
Traditionally, the number of child abuse reports goes up as schools ready for a new year. Things pick up dramatically in July, she said, as the Children’s Justice Project, of which Amberly’s Place is the hub, provides mandated reporter training for teachers on how to recognize signs and symptoms of child abuse and the mandate to report it.
The number of abuse cases in Yuma County have remained steady except for one notable difference, according to the latest statistics released by Amberly’s Place.
The family advocacy center reported a 12% increase in the number of child sexual abuse cases in May when compared to the same time last year, which Executive Director Tori Bourguignon described as a “significant rise.”
“While this trend is disturbing, it also means that these crimes are being reported and the victims and families are getting the help that they need to begin to heal from this type of abuse,” Bourguignon said.
The community came through for Amberly’s Place by supporting Week in Paradise, the agency’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
Ticket sales raised $53,000 for the emergency needs of abuse victims in Yuma County.
“Our community is truly amazing,” noted Trevor Umphress, director of development. “Now these funds will be able to further assist us in our mission and ensure those that we serve do not go without.”
Amberly’s Place event “Week in Paradise” was voted as Yuma’s Best Charity Event or Fundraising Project for 2022.
Amberly’s Place has kicked off Week in Paradise, which raises funds to help Yuma County abuse victims with emergency needs.
“This is our largest fundraiser of the year, and we are grateful for our sponsors and all who buy tickets in support of Amberly’s Place. As we face these funding cuts, this fundraiser is more important than ever,” Executive Director Tori Bourguignon said.
Amberly’s Place is facing a “significant” cut to its Victims of Crime Act funding, which has historically been the largest and most stable funding source for the center.
https://www.yumasun.com/news/amberly-s-place-kicks-off-week-in-paradise-fundraiser/article_54a2a2b8-e6d7-11ed-88a4-db23e84e237b.html
Amberly’s Place is facing a $225,000 funding cut for the upcoming year.
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed court cases, resulting in fewer penalties deposited into the Victims of Crime Act fund, the largest funding source for the Yuma County family advocacy center.
VOCA funds do not come from taxpayers’ dollars. Rather, they are funded with criminal fines, penalties, forfeited bail bonds and special assessments collected by the federal government.
SAN LUIS, Ariz. – Financial contributions that City Hall pays to social service and other nonprofit organizations that serve San Luis will come under review by the new mayor.
Over the last two fiscal years, the city has approved more than $1 million in contracted services and in sponsorships to the organizations that stage events in the community and otherwise serve San Luis.
Mayor Nieves Riedel, who assumed office in December, says she has started a review of those allocations to make sure the city is getting the agreed-upon services and that the money is otherwise used for the intended purposes.
She said money will only be given to the organizations that submit reports on their uses of the funds, and depending on whether the city’s budget allows for the financial distributions.
“When they bring me (requests for) donations for approval, and I ask questions, I realized that there’s a list of the same people receiving (the money) and that they receive it systematically,” she said.
“I’m a person of numbers,” said Riedel, who heads a housing development company in San Luis. “And the numbers don’t lie. The residents of San Luis, Arizona, have the right to know how we are spending their money, because it’s not our money, nor is it the city employees. It’s the public’s money.”
First to come under review were the organizers of the Off Road Expo in San Luis, an event that brings together off-road vehicle vendors and enthusiasts of the pastime to the city’s Joe Orduno Park. The city committed $25,000 for contractual services and $10,500 in sponsorships.
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