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San Pedro Opens Domestic Violence Centre

Today in San Pedro Town, the Hope Haven Domestic Violence outreach centre was officially opened in the San Mateo area on Ambergris Caye. The centre will be offering services to both women and men who are experiencing domestic violence. With assistance from our correspondent on the island, News Five's Duane Moody files this report.�

Duane Moody, Reporting

It took months of hard work from volunteers to restore the site, but today this property becomes a sister facility to the Hope Haven Children's Home under the N.G.O. Raise Me Up.� The Hope Haven Domestic Violence Outreach Centre is a monumental achievement for the island says Operations Director Kristina Romero.

Kristina Romero, Operations Director, Hope Haven Domestic Violence Outreach Centre

"We find that it is important to offer services to women and women who have fallen victims to domestic violence. Here at the centre we have taken a one-stop shop approach where we will have the presence of the police department, women's department, legal aid and mental health services. So that if a woman or man accesses the services, they can access all of these services in one day."

Among those officials attending the official opening of the facility was the Special Envoy for Women and Families, Rossana Brice�o. Brice�o commended San Pedro for advancing the initiative in the fight against domestic violence and assisting those who are most vulnerable.

Rossana Brice�o, Special Envoy for Women & Families

"It sends a message that women are not alone; that there are places that women can go to for support. And in this case, San Pedro is taking the initiative, is leading the fight against domestic violence by providing support. These women can get all the services that they need to help them rebuild, to help them focus on what will be their next step. So I believe that a centre, a home, a safe haven for women throughout the districts, throughout this country would be wonderful to see them duplicate or replicate what San Pedro is doing right now."

Area Representative Andre Perez said that domestic violence is very much alive on the island and many families are suffering in silence. After today, those victims should know that there is now a place where they can receive all forms of assistance.

Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

"To deal with this type of plague that is affecting our community - as somebody earlier mentioned, it has to do with intoxication, it has to do with jealousy, it has to do with the stigma. That's pretty much what our culture is all about. So we have to curb that, we have to fight that. How do we do that? It has to be a community effort and today exemplifies that."

The Hope Haven Domestic Violence Outreach Centre comes with emergency placement bedrooms, offering shelter to victims needing a place to stay as well as kitchen and laundry facilities. Duane Moody for News Five.

Hope Haven Belize looks forward to expanding its services in the community and their vision includes the building of an empowerment centre specializing in skills training for women. These training opportunities include massage therapy, refrigeration and air conditioning training, sewing classes, mechanics training and financial literacy training.

Channel 5

San Pedro Town has a new Domestic Violence Outreach Center that was possible through the hard work of Hope Haven and the many volunteers and benefactors of the project.

The center has been established for the purpose of providing essential services to survivors of domestic violence.

Their mission is simple: to , PREVENT violence, PROTECT victims, and EMPOWER survivors.

Opening for hours for the Outreach center are:

9am-4pm
Mon-Fri

The center will host the following offices for the support and the empowerment of the survivors that access their services:

1. On-site Police Department
2. Free legal advice
3. Office of the women's department

Schedule and opening hours for each office will be announced soon.

Congratulations Hope Haven













Ambergris Today

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Hope Haven Domestic Violence Outreach Center officially opens in San Pedro Town


Island residents afflicted by domestic violence can now access a facility with personnel committed to preventing further violence, protecting victims, and empowering survivors. The Hope Haven Domestic Violence Outreach Center officially opened its doors on Wednesday, December 15th, just a couple feet from the Holy Cross Anglican Primary School at the entrance of the San Mateo area. The center will provide police assistance, legal aid, emergency placements, Women's Department assistance, and accessible mental health services. Anyone needing help can visit the center opening from 9AM to 4PM Monday to Friday. For any emergencies after hours or weekends, please contact the police. The schedule and opening hours for each office offering the different services is to be announced. For updates, visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HopeHavenBZ.

The facility is the product of long months of hard work by volunteers as they restored the property for the center. This new center is the sister facility of Hope Haven Children's Home, both under the non-governmental organization Raise Me Up. Present at the monumental event were founder Brittney O'Daniel, stakeholders, donors, Hope Haven Belize directors, and local and central government representatives.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun