DELAWARE―In commemoration of serving the community for 40 years, Turning Point will be hosting an Open House at the shelter in Delaware on Friday, May 31, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is to not only celebrate the anniversary, but also the Grand Opening of the shelter in Delaware.
During the event, we will be holding a special ceremony at 12:30 p.m. to celebrate 40 years of service to the region and recognition of the community coming together. The ceremony will feature key partners tying a ribbon together, rather than a traditional ribbon-cutting. This ribbon-tying symbolizes the many community members who came together with our agency during our capital campaign in order to end domestic violence.
One out of four women are victims of intimate partner violence in their lifetime and most of these cases are never reported to the police. In May of 1977, a group of women from the area saw the need to help these victims and set out on the task to open a shelter. In April of 1979, this group of citizens opened Turning Point to shelter victims of domestic violence and provide programming for victims.
Throughout the years of service, Turning Point has had a few locations and services and have expanded to include individual and group support services, 24-hour crisis lines, transitional housing, victims’ rights advocacy, teen advocacy programs, ORW outreach program, community education presentations, and children’s programming.
Turning Point currently has the largest service area of any domestic violence program in the state, covering Crawford, Delaware, Marion, Morrow, Union, and Wyandot counties.
Turning Point will be displaying a segment of the National Clothesline Project during this anniversary event. The Clothesline Project is a visual display that bears witness to the violence against women, men, and children. Each shirt is decorated to represent a particular survivor’s experience. If you have the time to visit during the Open House event, please take the time to walk around and read the shirts. They tell a very real story about the victims they represent and provide real insight into the pain of domestic violence.