Transitioning Times

Transitions is a crisis center that provides advocacy, empowerment, and education to victims, survivors, families and communities to end patterns of violence and abuse. We are looking to build safer families and communities by combating domestic violence, sexual assault, and other serious crimes. Our services are primarily focused in Union County as well as other surrounding areas. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. Our goal through this series of blog posts is to educate as well as bring awareness of the severity of these issues. These are some of the shocking nation-wide facts about how common domestic violence is. ·         Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crimes ·         19% of domestic violence involves a weapon ·  ...

Transitionsof PA , a local comprehensive crime victims’ service center, serving Union, Snyder, and Northumberland Counties received a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay Foundation ℠. In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, the Foundation has awarded $20,000 in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for a total of $3 million.              Transitions of PA will use the grant funding to provide critical support for its economic empowerment and financial management programs for survivors of domestic violence. “At Transitions of PA, we are incredibly grateful for support from The Mary Kay Foundation ℠ and its commitment to break the cycle of domestic violence,” said Transitions Chief Executive Officer, Susan K. Mathias. “The most common reason victims stay in or return to abusive relationships is that they don’t have the financial resources to br...

The exhibit of 'An Empty Place at the Table' was created in response to numerous domestic violence homicides in Lackawanna County in 1993. The first exhibit was created by the Women’s Resource Center, Inc., but it is used by many domestic violence centers and similar agencies across the nation. 'An Empty Place at the Table' shows the devastating effects of domestic violence and makes sure that the victims are not forgotten. In addition, the exhibit shows that domestic violence related homicides undoubtedly leave an empty spot at the table. Transitions will be putting up Empty Place at the Table displays in many locations across Union, Snyder, and Northumberland Counties to remember individuals who lost their lives in due to domestic violence. The four people highlighted in the displays are Jean Sanders, whose life was taken by her grandson that she raised on Feb 17, 2013 at the age of 71; Destiny Spencer, whose life was taken by her fiancé and the father of her thr...

We've had another eventful October, honoring domestic violence survivors by recognizing the month as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Hope you saw the displays at our local libraries: Our display at the Headstart Health Fair: Eckie is shown with a new haircut and two students at Empire Beauty School to celebrate their annual Cut It Out Event: Our first Invinci-Bowl Event, held at Best Bowl in Selinsgrove: Getting ready to start bowling! Susan speaking to the crowd Tara, encouraging a patron to purchase hot dogs, chips, soda and/or cookies! Susan, with the winning team, from Wood-Mode We also participated in #PurpleThursday, created by the National Network to End Domestic Violence.  Here are the pictures submitted to us of people honoring this day. Thanks to all who helped us commemorate October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

The month of October is a special one for me and my family. Its not my birthday or a special family holiday. Its not an anniversary or anything like that.... October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence is so common.... SO COMMON in fact that one in four women will experience it at some point in their lives. One in four- 25%!! That's outrageous!! And that doesnt include men. (In 2005 there were 78,180 reported cases of men who were abused by their partners- heterosexual and homosexual) The reason why this month is so important to my family is because my mother (That beautiful woman you see above) lost her life to domestic violence. I'm not going to put every detail here, that would take forever. But its extremely important for me to point out a few things here. At the risk of sounding preachy, I strongly urge you to read and take something from this. That's all I ask.... I never saw my mom get hit. Most people associate domestic violen...

Presidential Proclamation -- National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, 2013 NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH, 2013 - - - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) nearly 20 years ago, our Nation's response to domestic violence has greatly improved. What was too often seen as a private matter best hidden behind closed doors is now an established issue of national concern. We have changed our laws, transformed our culture, and improved support services for survivors. We have seen a significant drop in domestic violence homicides and improved training for police, prosecutors, and advocates. Yet we must do more to provide protection and justice for survivors and to prevent violence from occurring. During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we stand with domestic abuse survivors, celebrate our Nation's progress in combatting these despicable ...