Mary Katherine Spencer, S.A.F.E., Inc.’s community educator, was invited to speak to the Corinth Civitan Club at the luncheon on Wednesday, June 23rd. Attendees learned about the services available to victims of violence in their community and how to help a friend or family member get the help they need. The Club honored S.A.F.E., Inc. with a generous donation.

S.A.F.E., Inc.’s traveling art show of painted jeans, “Jeans for Justice” will be on display at the Corinth Library through the month of June. Please make a point to visit the library’s 2nd floor to see the entire exhibit!

Although our formal Jeans for Justice Day, April 9^th 2010,  has passed; there are ongoing ways that you can participate in raising awareness about violence in our communities:

If you like to wear jeans to work, help set up a Jeans for Justice Day at your workplace anytime: A speaker from S.A.F.E. can come to your office and discuss how sexual assault and domestic violence impact the lives of those in the workplace. You will be provided with a poster, sexual assault awareness pins, and an opportunity to learn about and openly discuss a difficult topic.

Create a work of art: The painted “Jeans for Justice” were the idea of a group of students that wanted to participate, but always wore jeans and said they had no money to make a donation.  The first “jeans” were done as drawings on paper, and the project expanded to using paint and decorations on donated jeans.  If you have a message you would like to get out about violence, a victim who you would like to honor, or just want to make something to brighten someone’s day, then create a pair of Jeans for Justice and donate them to S.A.F.E., Inc.

Host a Painting Party: Do you know a group of people who love to get artsy for a good cause? If so, host a painting party! This can happen at any time of the year and can be for adults, teens or children. A speaker from S.A.F.E.,  Inc. can come to your event and help you paint while answering questions about violence prevention in north Mississippi

Donate Jeans or Art Supplies: Making art can be expensive, so if you have an extra pair of jeans, a damaged pair of jeans that are not able to be worn, or extra art supplies (paint, brushes, hot glue, appliqués, ribbons, etc.) we could really use them!

Get ready for Jeans for Justice 2011: We look forward to partnering with the Tupelo Women’s Club in 2011 to host another great “Jeans for Justice Painting Party”. We are currently looking for a venue and will need volunteers to help us out with all of our events next April!

Please call our Community Educator, Mary Katherine Spencer, at 841-9138 or email maryk_safe@comcast.net for more information.

Click Here to Listen

Chilean police say 22-year-old Joran van der Sloot has been detained; he’s suspected of killing a woman in Peru five years after he was suspected of killing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. Here in the U.S., the Department of Justice says that 16-to-24-year olds have the highest reported incidence of domestic and dating violence. We speak with Marjorie Gilberg, whose group, Break the Cycle, recently graded states on how available protection orders are to teens and dating partners; and Parents of Murdered Children founder Charlotte Hullinger, whose daughter Lisa was murdered in 1978 by her boyfriend, who went on to kill again.