Dear Mayor and all members of the Menlo Park City Council
I am a resident of Menlo Park and a domestic violence victims advocate. I am writing to you with a request that has an impact on citizens of every city in the world. Domestic violence is a pervasive problem in our families. During COVID-19, the increase in domestic violence raised serious concerns on how we act at the community level against this evil phenomenon. October is commemorated nationwide as domestic violence awareness month and, in 2022, Menlo Park City Council also issued a Proclamation to this effect.
Although progress has been made toward preventing and ending domestic violence (DV) and providing support to survivors and their families, important work remains to be done; I am sharing a few relevant statistics for your consideration:
- California has higher rates of domestic violence experienced by both men and women when compared to the national average: approximately 35% of California women and 31% of California men experience physical intimate partner violence in their lifetimes;
- Law enforcement agencies received 166,890 domestic violence-related calls in 2018;
- DV is the third leading cause of homelessness among families in the United States and in California
- Domestic Violence has a significant economic impact on women - throughout the country, an estimated 8 million days of paid work each year are lost because of intimate partner violence. DV is estimated to cost $8.3 billion in expenses annually in a combination of higher medical costs and lost productivity;
- in Fiscal Year 2021-2022, domestic violence shelter programs served 13,370 individuals in shelters and served 54,521 individuals through non-shelter supportive services
I am a volunteer at Maitri, an organization that works with South Asian immigrant individuals experiencing domestic abuse by providing free, confidential and culturally responsive services. Maitri also engages and educates community members in raising awareness and preventing relationship abuse and violence. To learn more about us, please visit our website www.maitri.org.
Also included for your information, is the proclamation that Menlo Park City Council released last year. It is my sincere hope that you would introduce a resolution at a meeting in October declaring this month domestic violence awareness month.
Please feel free to reach out to me at 650-303-1614, should you have any questions or comments or require additional information. I very much look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
Nisha
Nisha Advani, PhD, MPS
Executive Coach & Consultant
Developing Leadership and Team Excellence
nisha.advani3@gmail.com Tel: +1 650 303 1614
