Prince Frederick, MD – It once was ignored but today domestic violence is a very public offense. The month of October is designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In Calvert County the resources used to deal with the issue are stretched but the jurisdiction’s strategy has set the bar high for the world.

During a recent proclamation ceremony declaring October Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the county, Calvert County Health Department Crisis Intervention Center Director David Gale noted that 2015 “has been quite a busy year” for the Safe Harbor, a residential shelter for abused women and their children.

The 24-year-old facility has seen a 10 percent increase in residents and a substantial rise in “bed nights.” The bed nights’ number is close to 4,700 this year at Safe Harbor.

While more women are being sheltered in Calvert, fewer women are dying as a result of domestic violence. Gale touted the Maryland Lethality Assessment Program (MLAP), which was piloted in Calvert County. “This program gives law enforcement officers who respond to domestic violence incidents an assessment tool that quickly and easily identifies victims who are at high risk to be killed by their partner and immediately puts them in contact with Crisis Intervention Center counselors or the domestic violence program in the jurisdiction the incident occurred,” a health department synopsis of MLAP stated.

The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence created MLAP a decade ago. The program has been copyrighted and as Gale told the county commissioners, MLAP is now used in 40 states and several foreign countries. It has cut domestic violence homicides down by 40 percent in Maryland since its implementation.

“Calvert was the second county in Maryland to form a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, which is a jurisdictional team composed of domestic violence program providers, law enforcement, [Calvert] State’s Attorney’s Office and any other agency the deceased victim had contact with or should have had contact with prior to the homicide,” stated Crisis Intervention Center Community Education and Outreach Coordinator Corrita Myers. “This team examines any gaps or barriers in service that occurred in the case and ways to close these gaps so that they do not occur in the future.”

Myers said another indication the awareness efforts may be working “is more interest shown at our outreach events.” Additionally, Myers noted the Calvert County Board of Education has asked the Crisis Intervention Center to “teach ‘Healthy Relationships’ not only in the high schools but for seventh graders as well.”

In partnership with the Calvert County Commission for Women, the Crisis Intervention Center is holding an event Tuesday, Oct. 27 at the county courthouse and an adjacent office building. At 7 p.m. that evening a candlelight vigil will be held in the courthouse courtyard. The vigil will be led by the Rev. Joanna White, who is rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Prince Frederick. A recognition ceremony will follow at 7:30 p.m. at the Albright Building Meeting Room. The ceremony will include guest speakers who will share their domestic violence stories.

There is also an ongoing display known as the Clothesline Project. The display consists of T-shirts made by domestic violence survivors. The shirts will be on display throughout October at branches of Calvert Library, the College of Southern Maryland, Calvert County Health Department, the Calvert County Courthouse lobby and on the second floor of the District Courthouse Building in Prince Frederick.

For more information visit www.calverthealth.org

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com