Domestic Violence Hotline Begins Advertising Campaign

Domestic Violence Hotline
Begins Advertising Campaign

October 12, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Joe Scott, Director of Communications
Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer
Jane Robison, News Secretary
(213) 974-3525

LOS ANGELES – Beginning this week, bus riders in some South Los Angeles County communities will see ads that say, “Home Shouldn’t Hurt,” and that give the toll free number for a 24-hour hotline for victims of domestic violence. The advertising campaign coincides with October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The $75,000 advertising campaign is a first for the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Hotline, launched in 1994, said Carol Baker, head of the D.A.’s Crime Prevention & Youth Services Bureau. The billboard and bus shelter posters will be up through October.

While the Hotline serves callers in 11 languages, including English, Spanish, Tagolog, Khmer, Japanese, Thai, Armenian, Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Cantonese, the pilot advertising campaign will be available in English and Spanish only. Baker said the D.A.’s office hopes to expand the advertising campaign later to include more areas in the county and in more languages.

The 24-hour Hotline, administered by the District Attorney’s Office, is a toll-free phone service that connects domestic violence victims with trained shelter personnel and/or victim advocates. The Hotline received an average of 394 calls a month during the first year it was introduced. Last year, more than 1,350 calls a month were received.

The advertising campaign to raise awareness for the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Hotline is made possible by private donations and a grant by the Suicide Prevention Partnership, a national nonprofit organization.

Bus riders in Long Beach, Signal Hill, Paramount, South Los Angeles, Lynwood, South Gate and Downey will see posters on bus shelters, a billboard and signs on buses alerting people that victims of violence can call the number -- 1-800-978-3600 – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Hotline aims to provide advocacy services to domestic violence victims and assist those who need an exit strategy or immediate shelter to those in danger by routing callers to an advocate according to the caller’s location and/or language.

The Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Hotline costs nearly $10,000 annually to operate and is funded by private donations. Donations from the public are welcome and can be made payable to the California Community Foundation at the following address: California Community Foundation, Attn: D.A. Victim and Crime Prevention Initiatives, 445 S. Figueroa St., 34th floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

Information on the Hotline is also available at the D.A.’s web site: www.da.lacounty.gov/domv.htm.

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CONTACT: Carol Baker or Suzanne Hazel, (213) 974-7401.

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