Senator David Carlucci's Virtual Town Hall on Domestic Violence

(New City, NY) - Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester) invites community members to join him for a Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. focused on domestic violence prevention and services for those in need of help.  Carlucci will be joined by  Angela Accomando, a domestic violence advocate and Karen Cheeks-Lomax, Chief Executive Officer of My Sisters' Place,  Residents can watch and ask their questions in real time on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorDavidCarlucci/.

Calls to the State's domestic violence hotline are up 30 percent in April compared to last year and calls increased 18 percent from February to March 2020. State Police also report domestic violence incident calls were up 15 percent in March compared to last year. 

Due to to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines, domestic violence victims are left more vulnerable and unsafe because they are isolated at home with their abuse and unable to get away.  Senator Carlucci has been in a leader in championing legislation to help increase domestic violence reporting, ensure children are not put in the custody of an absuive parent, prevent abusers from have access to guns, protect a survivor's finances, and seek better domstic violence training for judges. 

Last week, the Senator applauded the Governor's office for announcing the creation of a new task force to find innovative solutions to this crisis. The task force will be chaired by the Secretary to the Governor, Melissa DeRosaand and made up of experts from victim and survivor agency providers, advocacy groups, and law and policy groups. They will work to identify solutions to help domestic violence survivors, with the specific goal of looking beyond the traditional ways that services have been provided in the past. The task force will make recommendations to the Governor  on Thursday, and he will make a final policy determination.

In April, the state launched a domestic violence hotline and a new text program and confidential online service to aid victims of abuse and provide potential lifesaving ways to get help. New Yorkers seeking help can call 1-800-942-6906, text 844-997-2121 or chat with a professional on the new confidential website at www.opdv.ny.gov. The text and online services are now staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with OPDV staff who are experts in the area of domestic violence.