2007 News

April 23, 2007

Cut It Out! Commissioners Lend Support to Domestic Violence Detention Program

Today, Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley, representing fellow commissioners Charley Martin and Sandy Miller, stood alongside US Attorney Pat Meehan and others to voice support for a unique program called CUT IT OUT. A program of the Salons Against Domestic Abuse Fund dedicated to mobilizing salon professionals and others to fight the epidemic of domestic abuse in communities across the United States, CUT IT OUT builds awareness of domestic abuse and trains salon professionals to recognize warning signs and safely refer clients to local resources.

Today, the commissioner joined with Meehan at Bristol Township’s Venice Ashby Community Center to announce a local partnership between the Empire Beauty School, A Woman’s Place and Weed and Seed sites in the area, including Bristol Township where the announcement took place. Under the program, salon professionals from Empire Beauty Schools, six in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, will be trained to detect the signs of domestic violence and refer cases for assistance.

According to Cawley, research shows that most battered women never call the police or seek the help of a shelter. “But, they will talk about it with someone they trust. The hope is that the relationships built between the hairdresser and client will yield that dialogue and result in steering victims to help.”

“We applaud the Bristol Weed and Seed program for partnering with Empire Beauty Schools to undertake this valuable domestic violence recognition training. It represents the initiative of thinking “outside the box,” creating a unique way to pinpoint signs of physical abuse,” Cawley said this morning. Weed and Seed focuses on community-driven prevention, while it attacks the underlying roots that contribute to crime, such as unemployment, lack of a quality education and widespread poverty. It involves collaborative law enforcement between local and state crime fighting teams to eliminate drugs and violence in targeted neighborhoods. At the same time, it works to revitalize and strengthen local leadership.

The staff and students of Empire were also praised for “their willingness to take on a role that is typically not within their purview, but clearly within their reach – to keep their eyes and ears open, and learn the techniques to help someone from the community in need.”

In a similar program, the commissioners created a domestic violence task force that has partnered with all seven hospitals in Bucks County, the Bucks County Department of Health, and A Woman's Place to train hospital staff and physicians to detect and refer patients who are victims of domestic violence.

(l-r) Bristol Township Police Chief Jim McAndrews, US Attorney Pat Meehan, Commissioner Jim Cawley, Lt. Terry Hughes, and Donna Byrne, executive director of A Woman's Place.