As the President of the most diverse borough in the city, Melinda Katz’s office is charged with finding ways to deal with domestic and intimate partner violence for victims from different backgrounds, different cultures and with different issues. She joins In Focus to talk about their efforts, from the Queens Healthy Resources Fair, which brings together organizations designed to help victims become survivors, to working closely with the city’s Family Justice Center, which provides immediate relief for victims , such as shelter, food, child care or financial assistance. She speak to the challenges of finding the right way to help victims who live in close communities, be they religious or ethnic, that have historically forbidden issues like domestic violence to be taken outside the group, and the importance of funding domestic and intimate partner violence awareness programs. The NYC Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence has been around for two decades. In the past year, its mandate has expanded, and it’s become the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence.  Commissioner Cecile Noel joins In Focus to talk about that new mandate, which recognizes that, though women still make up the majority of domestic violence victims and survivors, those numbers are changing as we come to realize it affects every community.

If you are being abused you can call any of these organizations for help:

Family Justice Centers

1-800-621 HOPE (4673)

Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs

212 788 7654

Arab American Family Support Center

Brooklyn:  718 643 8000

Queens:  718 937 8000

Jewish Association Serving the Aging

212 273 5272

Sanctuary For Families

212 349 6009

Korean American Family Support Center

718 460 3800

The LGBTQ Network

718 514 2155