ST. PAUL — The Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has awarded a second $2 million grant to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to address sexual assault kit testing, victim advocacy, and investigations. The 2019 BJA Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) grant is going to several entities […]
Thursday, September 5, 2019: The Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault opposes the use of at-home forensic evidence collection kits (commonly referred to as “rape kits”) and is greatly concerned that they are being marketed to the public, particularly on college campuses. MeTooKit is a company that claims to have created the first Sexual Assault Evidence […]
BY: Shoshana b., ALEXANDRA HOUSE Youth SERVICES ADVOCATE Students from several Anoka County high schools received vigorous training on the topics of domestic violence, sexual violence, advocacy, and prevention strategies. They were then tasked with identifying a risk factor in their community, and addressing it. The Leadership Institute unanimously identified that their peers were unaware […]
By: Jenna S., Alexandra House Aging Services Advocate June is the month dedicated to raising awareness for abuse of the elderly. When you picture someone who may be experiencing domestic violence or abuse, what do you picture? Would it be difficult to imagine someone who is in their 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s experiencing abuse? Can you […]
When I retired in 2016, I knew that I wanted to give back to the community, but I did not know how or where. Advocating for women has been a cornerstone to my values all through my life so when I found out about Alexandra House my search for the WHERE ended. I knew, however, […]
By Courtney G., Alexandra House Healthcare Coordinator THE ISSUE Sexual violence is an epidemic in our society that affects millions of women, men and children. It occurs among people of all races, religions, cultures, sexual orientations, socioeconomic and age groups. Sexual violence is any violence, physical or psychological, carried out through sexual means or […]
I didn’t have an idyllic childhood; in fact, my parents were drug addicts. This resulted in my three siblings and I being passed around from family member to family member. When my mom regained custody, we bounced around from place to place, shelter to shelter. Life was just as unstable and my mom wasn’t around much […]
Law enforcement’s response to domestic violence should be more than an incident report By Sheriff James Stuart If citizens are asked what the most dangerous call is for our deputies respond to, they might guess a domestic. They’re right! The Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office found that “Police officers are more likely […]
Rozzie O., Volunteer Advocate Two years ago, my youngest child turned five and became much more independent and, frankly, safe around stairs, outlets, grapes and hot dogs, not to mention her new found ability to proudly swing on the swing set without needing a push. I could see the promise of time to do things that […]
Volunteering at Alexandra House has come back to me in surprising ways. Mandy M., Volunteer Advocate We all have them. Things to cross of our lists. Places to go, things to do, projects to start. Even though I choose to do a lot in community, there is always that one organization that lingers on my […]