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Press Room |
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Press Room VITAL MERGER STRENGTHENS VULNERABLE FAMILIES Concord, CA, April 13, 2010 -- Two of Contra Costa County’s most respected nonprofit leaders, STAND! Against Domestic Violence and the Family Stress Center, both headquartered in Concord, announced today that they will join forces to better serve families and children in crisis. The merger will be effective July 1, 2010. Gloria Sandoval will be the CEO of the combined organization. Sandoval has been Executive Director of STAND! Against Domestic Violence since 1997 and has more than 30 years experience in nonprofit management. Under the agreement, the combined organization will operate using a version of the STAND! name (yet to be determined).
According to Sandoval, “This merger reflects recognition by both organizations that the family violence issues at the heart of each of our missions are profoundly interrelated and could be more effectively addressed by joining together. The decision positions the new agency at the forefront of the family violence arena and transforms solutions to preventing and treating abuse in the home.”
“This merger integrates the passion, expertise, and experience of both agencies that are in the business of helping vulnerable families for decades," said Cheryl Balogh, President of Family Stress Center. "The decision is driven by the needs of children and families to create an organization combining resources, expertise, and best practices. The new unified organization will bring greater hope for the children and families of Contra Costa County."
The goals of this merger are to provide more effective, robust and comprehensive services to families by maximizing the synergies between programs; to eliminate duplication of services; to provide more cost-effective programs for children and families; and to provide a stronger voice for the families of the County around issues of family violence.
"Now more than ever, agencies need to work together,” said Supervisor John Gioia, this year’s Chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. “We’re all thinking of more efficient ways of delivering services to the residents of our County. Nonprofit service providers must seek out new and innovative ways to manage resources to increase efficiencies and decrease costs while continuing to provide the highest quality of services."
"Combining the unique strengths and assets of both organizations gives us the opportunity to realize our vision of enhancing services to victims of violence and abuse and strengthens families,” said Linda Best, STAND! Board Chair.
Families in Contra Costa County who experience family violence will benefit by having a single organization offering help and hope, and from which they will receive stronger and more comprehensive programs and services. The merger integrates services to end domestic violence and child abuse and promotes healthy families as the best ways to prevent family violence and many forms of community violence from occurring in the future.
The daunting reality is that domestic violence and child abuse are on the rise. Severe stress continues to impact families in these turbulent economic times.
“As we move forward to build a lasting partnership with our clients and supporters, we are looking ahead to embrace the change that will refocus our shared core values and meet public expectations of redefining solutions to family violence,” added Sandoval.
Contact
Contact STANDing Strong An update from Gloria Sandoval, Executive Director Concord, CA, August 24, 2009 -- If we don’t solve the problem of violence within a family, nothing else can be addressed. We can't deal with school violence if we have kids growing up in violent homes. We can't deal with what's happening on the street, what's going on in gangs; we can't deal with community violence unless we have kids growing up in safe family environments.
With this in mind, core safety net services to victims remain our highest priority. Eighteen domestic violence deaths in Contra Costa County in the past 13 months coupled with staggering cuts in funding over the past two years have strained our efforts. The issue of cuts to shelters is not a political issue; it’s an issue of life and death. Families are losing their jobs and their homes, relationships are overly stressed, and the victims of anger and frustration are women and children. The STAND! Board of Directors, staff and volunteers are committed to ensuring safety for victims. Key components of our efforts include increasing volunteer trainings to assist with staffing critical programs, partnering with community groups to provide volunteer support and reaching out to the community to support our efforts during this unprecedented time. The stark reality for Contra Costa and families in need: Intervention/Emergency Services IMPACT: Prevention IMPACT: Budget Contact All State Funding for the Domestic Violence Program Eliminated! Concord, CA, July 30, 2009 -- Governor Schwarzenegger slashed $20.4 million dollars from the state budget
today eliminating all state funding for the Domestic Violence Program. These devastating cuts come at a time domestic violence agencies are already struggling to manage dramatic increases in requests for services.
STAND! has seen a 24% increase in requests for emergency shelter and a 65% increase in volume of crisis calls during the last year. More alarming still is the shocking escalation in lethal domestic violence assaults. The Contra Costa community has experienced 16 domestic violence related deaths since last August— among which 3 were children and 4 were innocent bystanders.
“Today’s budget cuts represent a loss of more than $200,000 to STAND!’s
core emergency shelter services to local victims,” said Gloria Sandoval, STAND!’s Executive Director. “This spells dire consequences for the County’s most vulnerable families including unanswered crisis calls, increased homelessness as women and children flee violence, and ultimately the loss of life.
Contact Vanity for Charity IV Raises Money for Charity - May 28, 2009 Walnut Creek, CA, March 25, 2009 -- On May 28, 2009, Dr. Jerome Potozkin, a well-known Walnut Creek and Danville dermatologist, will host his annual Vanity for Charity fundraiser, which donates all fees and proceeds Botox®, Restylane®, and Juvederm® injections from a day of cosmetic procedures to STAND! Against Domestic Violence. This will be the third time he and STAND! have collaborated in support of ending domestic violence and rebuilding lives. Dr. Potozkin is a board-certified dermatologist as well as being a specially trained dermatological surgeon. In addition to his work doing cosmetic procedures, Dr. Potozkin is a member of the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery, which gives him the latest and most effective tools and training to assist patients with their fight against skin cancer, targeting the bad cells and sparing those that are still healthy. STAND! Against Domestic Violence, celebrates 31 years of providing services to domestic violence victims and their families. Thousands of STAND! clients and their children in Contra Costa County have been helped through emergency shelter, transitional housing, family and individual counseling, legal assistance and domestic violence treatment programs. Contact STAND! Sees Increased Request for Services Concord, CA, November 18, 2008 -- STAND! Against Domestic Violence, Contra Costa’s only comprehensive domestic violence agency has seen a jump in demand for services this fall as compared to fall 2007. These increased requests viewed in light of the ten domestic violence related deaths in our community (several of which were bystanders) since this August paints a sobering picture. Domestic violence is a growing danger to every resident of our community. The increase in needs unfortunately coincides with a time of slowed donations to the agency. “It’s no secret that funding has become significantly more challenging during the past couple of months with the economic down turn,” said Gloria Sandoval, STAND!’s Executive Director. “But we’re relying on the fact the compassionate local residents value our services and will continue to support the life-saving work of STAND!.” Contact Pictures from Recent Happenings at STAND! Concord, CA, October 31, 2008 -- Contact Dining Out Against Domestic Violence Concord, CA, October 01, 2008 -- Contact STAND! is saddened by the loss of Catalina Torres Concord, CA, September 07, 2008 -- STAND! Against Domestic Violence is saddened by the loss of Catalina Torres, a former client and a long term volunteer and staunch supporter to domestic violence this past weekend.  Catalina Torres was a woman on a mission. She passionately shared her family’s story of triumph over domestic violence at any opportunity from one-on-one situations to ballrooms full of people to County Supervisors meetings. Catalina was a supporter of domestic violence awareness and women’s issues. She was a powerful example of a woman who traveled the long journey from victim to survivor and became an advocate. “When I left transitional housing, I knew that I was worthy to live a life free of violence, and it just seemed like the next logical step that all women are worthy of a society without violence. I speak out about violence to give back because of all I have received,” Catalina said. Catalina graduated from the Rollie Mullen shelter and The Margaret Lesher Center transitional housing in 1999. Catalina went on to earn two bachelors degrees and worked as a mathematics teaching assistant at Diablo Valley College. She was murdered by her cousin’s abusive husband on Saturday , September 6, 2008 as she was protecting her nieces and nephews from his rage. The many of us who knew Catalina knew her as a woman of incredible strength, compassion and as a wonderful mother. Catalina was humble about her community work saying, “I do what I can. We have to focus on changing society if we have hope to have a world free of violence.” Maybe one person can’t change the world, but you couldn't tell that to Catalina. She made a tremendous contribution. Please join us in sending your thoughts and prayers to her family and friends and many thanks to all of you who helped Catalina overcome her own domestic violence situation and rebuild the lives of herself and her children. We will truly miss her! In sadness, Gloria Sandoval Executive DirectorContact Local Leader Wins Prestigious Victims Rights Award Concord, CA, March 21, 2008 -- Gloria J. Sandoval, Executive Director of STAND! Against Domestic Violence has been awarded the 2008 Lois Haight Award of Excellence and Innovation for her work in ending domestic violence and helping its victims. This national award from the Congressional Victim’s Rights Caucus is given to those “whose efforts had a significant impact on local, state, national or international public policy development and implementation that promotes dignity, respect, rights, and services for crime victims.” Gloria Sandoval has worked in Bay Area nonprofits for over 30 years, specializing in social and victims services. Her work has been recognized by such diverse groups as The R.O.S.E. Fund, Wells Fargo, and the California Governor’s office. As Executive Director of STAND! Gloria helped to form the “Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence” initiative, the first such initiative in California, bringing together law enforcement, health professionals, government agencies and community groups to reduce domestic violence, family violence, and elder abuse in our communities. STAND! Against Domestic Violence, celebrates 31 years of providing services to domestic violence victims and their families. Thousands of STAND! clients and their children in Contra Costa County have been helped through emergency shelter, transitional housing, family and individual counseling, legal assistance and domestic violence treatment programs. Contact |
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