Turning Lives Around 180 Degrees

October 18, 2013

Turning one’s life around – if necessary, a full 180 degrees – can be difficult, particularly for victims of domestic and sexual violence.  180 Turning Lives Around seeks to help individuals do just that, providing services to women, men, and children throughout Monmouth County.

The Community Foundation’s Monmouth County Fund earlier this year made a $10,000 grant to the organization to support its Shore Regional Outreach Program (SROP).  Here’s what the program does, from our friends at 180 themselves:

The Shore Regional Outreach Program was established more than 15 years ago to address the needs of underserved victims of domestic violence.  The program is staffed with bilingual, multicultural counselors who, in addition to having office space in the greater Neptune/Asbury Park area, travel to sites throughout Monmouth County’s shore region to work with other social service agencies to establish 180’s presences and services.

Specific services provided by the program include:

  1. telephone crisis support,
  2. individual and group support,
  3. individual and group supportive counseling and education,
  4. safety planning, and
  5. court accompaniment for those seeking restraining orders against their abusers.

Funding from the Community Foundation’s Monmouth County Fund will allow the program to provide staff specifically in Freehold Borough.

“We are grateful to the Community Foundation of New Jersey,” said SROP Program Coordinator Adelaida Salermon. “Their continued support of 180’s Regional Outreach Program has touched hundreds of lives in the past few years and has truly been invaluable in helping this program evolve into one that is more responsive to the particular and changing needs of its clientele.”

The Monmouth County Fund was created to distribute dollars from Legacy Funds given to the Community Foundation.  Families who establish Legacy Funds can specify an issue, cause or hometown that they would like to have their charitable legacy impact.  CFNJ can then respond quickly to ever-changing community needs through grants designed around the spirit of the donor’s wishes.  The Fund’s current focus areas include: education, general health, vision-related health, women’s welfare, child welfare, immigrant welfare, and music education, among others.

To support efforts to aimed at stopping sexual or domestic violence – or to help Monmouth County at large – please contact the Community Foundation at 973-267-5533.