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- 2021 GALA -

Schedule of Events

6:00 pm

Welcome by Craig O'Neill and Daniel Robinson

6:05 pm

Opening Remarks by Wallace Smith

Words from Executive Director, Angela McGraw 

6:15 pm

Presentation of this Year's Peacekeeper Award by Jessica Sorg 

6:20 pm

A Special Story by Tim Whitley

6:35pm

Introduction of our Woman of the Year by Wallace Smith

6:50pm

Closing Remarks from Wallace Smith, Daniel Robinson, and Craig O'Neill 

7:15 pm

Program Conclusion 

8:00 pm

Silent Auction Ends

WOMEN & CHILDREN FIRST COVID UPDATE
The measures taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 have had a huge impact on how we support victims of family violence. Right away, at the onset of the pandemic here in America, we were encouraged to cut our occupancy into half at the shelter. Considering we're the largest shelter in the state, this was pretty significant to those we would have to turn away which meant we were going to have to get creative providing services. I'm proud to say that we've achieved that and continue to work diligently to accommodate families who are trying to break the cycle of violence in their homes. What we noticed early on was that we were not getting crisis calls through our 24-hour State Hotline, which honestly was unsettling. As a result of that decline, we realized that victims could not call out for assistance so we initiated a chat room which quickly showed to be beneficial. When we've been at a max number of guests in the shelter but are needing to help others with safety, we've been providing hotel rooms with our team members transporting food and other necessities to them. Through COVID monies that have been awarded to WCF, we have been able to move survivors into housing quickly. The number of families helped through our Transitional Housing Program has increased significantly, as the numbers below reflect. We've moved our Sexual Assault Program off-site which assists with outside traffic coming through the shelter but we still are showing that victims are worried about seeking services. The courthouse has gone through many procedural changes the past few months and this has affected the ability to assist with Orders of Protections. There are many things we are doing to limit exposure to COVID-19 such as having children's desks scattered among the main floor. This allows the parents to have the option of letting their children attend school virtually. We've had our kitchen full of food and personal hygiene items to hand out. In times like these, WCF has always been amazed at how our community wraps around us to do whatever it takes and this is no different right now.

Click here to go behind the scenes of last year's event setup!