For over twenty-five years, Pearl Crisis Center, a non-profit agency, has provided support and resources to all victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. Pearl realizes one way in addressing violence against women is to be pro-active rather than re-active, therefore Pearl developed youth focused projects to promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence. To achieve this Pearl’s youth advocates have delivered the Safe Dates curriculum to over 4,000 high school students in the classroom setting and facilitates a teen-led task force known as TADA (Teens Against Dating Abuse). TADA has received statewide recognition and numerous awards due to its innovative objectives in stopping violence against women. Most recently Pearl implemented a Safe Start Project which addresses the safety needs of children 0-12 years of age. Our youth programs continually focus on children who witness and are victims of domestic violence, and the short¬/long-term ill effects of such. Pearl also understands the unique needs of women when trying to leave an abusive situation with their inability to take necessary items with them. Therefore, Pearl opened a Community Closet Thrift Store in 2007 to provide the necessary household and personal items for women and children in transition – free of charge. Since its’ opening, Pearl has collaborated with local jobs and training programs to offer the store as a safe and secure on-the-job training site for those victims who may have not been allowed to work outside the home or develop community relationships thus helping them to acquire the necessary work skills to gain self-sufficiency and build self-empowerment. Lastly, over the past year Pearl began to recognize and respond to the complex needs of women seeking safety from a perpetrator who is a police officer, thus being the first Office of Justice Programs Minnesota grantee agency to receive funding to begin to address this hidden epidemic through multidisciplinary efforts. Pearl continually works locally with the civil and criminal court system, human service providers and other helping professionals to coordinate policies and procedures that support positive changes in the current system for battered women and their children. Pearl is also an active member of the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW) and the MN Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA).
