A contingent of eight students from Gloucester High School wearing purple “End Domestic Violence” T-shirts and ribbons were on hand as the city marked October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a flag-raising ceremony Tuesday at City Hall at noon.
The event honored 25 years of efforts to eliminate domestic violence in the seaport by the Gloucester Coalition for the Prevention of Domestic Abuse.
About 75 residents turned out, including city and state officials, police, fire and school officials. Also among the advocates and organizations working to raise awareness and provide services to victims of domestic violence was Salem-based Healing Abuse Working for Change Executive Director Sara Stanley.
After various speeches, the students were invited to take part in the flag raising on the lawn in front of City Hall after officials read out a proclamation from Mayor Greg Verga.
“I urge Gloucester residents, community leaders, and organizations to stand in solidarity with victims, survivors, and their families, continuing to raise awareness and collaborate with service providers to support them,” Verga read from the proclamation.
It also said “recent cuts to the federal budget are harming domestic violence programs, including those that provide hotlines, shelter, safety and education to victims and survivors; and we recognize that the human rights of women are being threatened on many fronts.”
The students were singled out by Stanley for taking the initiative to be on hand at a time when demand for HAWC’s services is increasing.
“Our local schools are doing vital work to support youth mental health and building resilience,” she said. “I want to give a shout out to members of the Gloucester High School faculty and students here today. This is what we can do, right?”
Stanley lauded the students and staff for making domestic violence awareness a focal point of their wellness class.
The students are part of the Gloucester High Wellness Coaching and Internship Program, a new program at the school for students interested in going into the “helping professions,” said Amy Kamm, the school district’s director of mental health and social emotional learning.
With instructor Rosa Goulart, the students learn skills the first part of the school year, then take part in internships in the second half, Kamm said.
Senior Alexia Spano, 17, spoke about the importance of domestic abuse awareness and the ability to connect young people to resources that are available to them.
“So, we are all teenagers and a lot of us have been in relationships and starting from a young age, domestic abuse is really real around here,” she said. “I’ve had some friends talk to me about it, and they don’t know that they have other resources around.”
HAWC has resources to help young people understand domestic abuse and how to get help, she said.
“At our age it’s important to know because it’s also our future, too. We are young girls, and even men deal with it, and it’s important for them to know there is help out there and they shouldn’t be struggling in silence,” Spano said.
Senior Jaleesa Middleton, 17, who would like to be a social worker and works at Pathways for Children, described the program as “trying to learn more things about yourself and what you can do with those skills.”
“It is enormously heartening to me that year after year we continue to show up in Gloucester and that over these 25 years, we have slowly broadened and expanded the response of the community to the issues of domestic abuse and sexual assault,” said coalition co-coordinator Sunny Robinson who stood alongside Nicki Richon-Schoel, another founder of the coalition.
Robinson made special mention of Ron Piscitello, who recently retired as Gloucester Police’s domestic abuse officer, and the appointment of Detective Kelly Gossom as the new dedicated domestic violence detective.
To learn more about the resources available, you can visit hawcdv.org.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.