LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION saluting the Vera House White Ribbon Campaign
March 27 - April 5, 2009

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
those institutions in our community that help to protect community
members and educate the public on issues of importance to everyone; and
WHEREAS, Primary among such institutions are those who, year after
year, diligently seek to empower those in need, promote a culture of
equality and respect, and assist families in crises; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to salute
Vera House upon the occasion of its 15th Annual White Ribbon Campaign,
recognizing its importance to its community and the integral role it has
played in the lives of so many; and
WHEREAS, In 1977, Syracuse gave birth to Vera House; it was formed by
Sister Mary Vera, CSJ, who, together with a group of concerned citizens,
knew there was a need in the community to provide women who were in
crisis with emergency shelter and services relevant to their time of
need; and
WHEREAS, What began in 1977 with modest services for women has been
greatly expanded; today, the mission of Vera House is "... to end all
domestic and sexual violence, to assist families in crisis, to support
those affected by domestic and sexual violence to live safe, self-suffi-
cient lives, to empower women and children, and to promote a culture of
equality and respect in relationships"; and
WHEREAS, Today, the many services offered by Vera House include:
outreach and advocacy services; domestic violence education programming;
children's counseling services; the Syracuse Area Domestic Violence
Coalition; and a domestic violence education program for male perpetra-
tors of violence; and
WHEREAS, On January 1, 2005, Vera House merged with another well-known
Syracuse agency, the Rape Crisis Center; these two agencies, which had
similar missions, combined their programs and staff in order to provide
the same quality services "together for hope and healing"; and
WHEREAS, This merger has meant that the sum of the combined operation
is bigger and better than what had been provided by Vera House and the
Rape Crisis Center separately; Vera House now occupies a place of great-
er importance and stature than ever before and continues its 32-year
tradition of quality service to the Central New York community; and
WHEREAS, This year of 2009 marks the 15th consecutive year that Vera
House has conducted its White Ribbon Campaign; and
WHEREAS, The White Ribbon Campaign traces its roots to Canada, where
on December 6, 1989, an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of
Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique for 45 minutes and killed 14 women;
almost immediately thereafter, what became known as the Montreal Massa-
cre became a galvanizing moment in which mourning turned into outrage
about all violence against women; and
WHEREAS, The shootings led many men to reflect on the fact that while
women's organizations had been working for years to end violence against
women, many men regarded it as a "woman's issue," even though the vast
majority of violent acts against women are, in fact, committed by men;
and
WHEREAS, The White Ribbon Campaign began in Canada on December 6,
1990, the first anniversary of the Montreal Massacre; and
WHEREAS, The goals of the campaign are to get men involved in working
to end men's violence against women, to raise awareness of this problem

in the community, and to support organizations that deal with the conse-
quences of men's violence against women; and
WHEREAS, Vera House brought the White Ribbon Campaign to Syracuse from
Canada and conducted its first campaign in 1995; and
WHEREAS, During the 10-day period of March 27th through April 5th,
thousands of Central New Yorkers will be wearing white ribbons or white
wristbands to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence; these
concerned citizens take part in the White Ribbon Campaign to help
support Vera House's Alternatives program; and
WHEREAS, By wearing a white ribbon during the campaign, men acknowl-
edge the important role men themselves need to play in the efforts to
end violence against women; and
WHEREAS, During the campaign thousands of individuals in the Syracuse
community are expected to be hard at work raising both funds and aware-
ness to support Vera House; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
salute the Vera House White Ribbon Campaign March 27 - April 5, 2009;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Randi Bregman, Executive Director, Vera House, Syracuse, New
York.