“Don’t be ashamed to speak up.”
Elgin’s Community Crisis Center educates ECC about domestic violence
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Domestic Violence Team member Araeli Munoz Salazar leads a candle light vigil to honor victims of domestic violence on Oct. 28 in the Spartan Auditorium.
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Domestic Violence Team Community Educator, Ruth Peterson, holds up candle as she honors victims of Domestic Violence on Oct. 28.
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Students held candles during the candlelight vigil concluding Domestic Violence Awareness Month on Oct. 28.
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Community Crisis Center Executive Director, Maureen Manning, speaks at candlelight vigil for Domestic Violence on Oct. 28.
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Domestic Violence Team Member, Uzma Hussaini, honors victims of domestic violence on Oct. 28.
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Domestic Violence Court Advocate, Araceli Munoz Salazar, reads a poem about domestic violence at the Candlelight Vigil for Domestic Violence Month.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the Community Crisis Center (CCC) in Elgin wants to help you.
On Oct. 28, the CCC’s domestic violence team led an event in the Spartan Auditorium to educate students and faculty at Elgin Community College about healthy relationships and to remember those who have lost their lives to domestic violence with a candlelight vigil. (Click here to watch).
“The idea behind us offering these presentations is that if [people] are educated on healthy relationships, [they]…will also strive for healthy relationships for themselves, thereby reducing the number of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence in society at large,” said Uzma Hussaini, domestic violence program director.
The CCC offers shelter, individual and group counseling, medical advocacy, economic empowerment, and prevention education for both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.
“Our own department of justice tells us one in three women [and] one in seven men at some time in their lives will be victims of domestic or sexual violence,” said Maureen Manning, CCC’s executive director. “At the Community Center here in Elgin, we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to respond to those victims. Our hotline is always answered by trained professionals.”
According to Manning, the CCC never closed during the pandemic and has taken extra precautions to keep everyone safe from COVID-19, including the addition of a telehealth program that allows victims to receive help from their own homes.
“We found that [the telehealth option] reduced barriers,” Manning said. “Victims told us [they] didn’t have to worry about transportation [and] no longer had to worry about childcare. It was a big plus.”
The domestic violence team wants students and faculty to know they are not alone and to take advantage of their information being posted in various places around ECC’s campus.
“Don’t be ashamed to speak up,” said Araceli Munoz Salazar, legal advocate and case manager. “I think a lot of people feel a little shame or even embarrassment to speak up about what they’re going through out of fear of judgment from their peers and family because people think it’s easy to leave [an abusive] relationship and it’s not. … Don’t be afraid to reach out to at least someone, whether that’s a professor or even an organization like ours if [you] do fear the judgment of people [you] know. We exist for a reason and if it’s a stranger on a hotline that can help talk out the issues you’re having and provide solutions, we’re here to help.”
CCC’s 24-hour Crisis Line: English:847-697-2380 Español: 847-697-9740
CCC’s office line: 847-742-4088 or visit https://www.crisiscenter.org/
National Domestic Abuse Hotline: 800-799-7233
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