Rockford Family Peace Center

Survivors, kids, staff and partners all benefit from having the 17th Circuit Therapy Dog Volunteers Inc. visit the Center. These furry friends bring smiles and comfort. We are so grateful for their commitment. ID: Purple and white background with a black outline of a box in the center surrounding the statement, "The service animal that was there today was a HUGE help emotionally for me and my boys." Quote provided by an anonymous survivor. Family Peace Center logo is below.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are one of the invisible injuries survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) experience. It can be hard to connect the dots between things like memory loss, personality changes, sleep disturbances, headaches, or sensory problems and being hurt or hit in the head. Please visit?PINK Concussions?for more information. ID: Text on a purple background reads, "1 in 3 women globally report physical or sexual IPV (Colantonio and Valera, 2021). 60-92% of abused women are estimated to have obtained a TBI directly correlated with IPV (Ivany and Schminkey, 2016).

We are thrilled to welcome back Rachel Lynch of Healing Touch Acupuncture to the FPC! Rachel will be providing community acupuncture for survivors and partners on Wednesday afternoons in April. Rachel will be offering the NADA ear acupuncture protocol. Research has shown this particular protocol to be beneficial in reducing symptoms of stress, trauma, and chronic pain. More information here: https://acudetox.com/ All FPC services are free of charge, trauma-informed, and available for survivors of domestic and sexual violence at any stage of healing. An intake is required for participation, please call the FPC at 779-348-7600 for more information. Funding for this program is provided by the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board #wccmhb ID: Image reads “Community-Style Acupuncture.” Inset picture shows an ear with 5 tiny needles, demonstrating the NADA protocol. Logos for Family Peace Center and Winnebago Community Mental Health Board are at the bottom.

FREE WEBINAR: The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Join Prevent Child Abuse Illinois on March 27th from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. Register at this link: About the webinar: Living in a home with domestic violence can significantly impact a child’s physical and emotional well-being. In more than half of the families where a woman is abused, the children are also abused. This training will provide an overview of the cycle of violence, the warning signs that children might exhibit, and ways you can help. ID: Flyer with blue banner that contains a white logo for Prevent Child Abuse Illinois and Title "Living in Fear: The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children." Underneath the banner on the left side is an image of two hands holding a purple ribbon. Next to the image is a paragraph that reads "Living in a home with domestic violence can significantly impact a child’s physical and emotional well-being. In more than half of the families where a woman is abused, the children are also abused. This training will provide an overview of the cycle of violence, the warning signs that children might exhibit, and ways you can help." Under the image of hands is a box with additional text that reads "March 27, 2025. 10:00am-12:00 pm. This webinar will be conducted via Zoom. THIS IS A FREE TRAINING. CEUs are not available for this session." Underneath that text box is an image of the presenter along with her information that reads "Rachel Chruszczyk, PMH-C. Rachel Chruszczyk is the Southern Region Prevention Specialist for Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. She is a licensed teacher in the state of Illinois, and has a background in sexual assault prevention and domestic violence work. A Southern Illinois resident of 21 years, she is dedicated to helping provide safe childhoods for all children throughout Illinois." to the right of her description is a registration QR Code with additional text that reads: "To register: Click here? For more information contact Rachel Chruszczyk at [email protected]" with a colored logo of Prevent Child Abuse Illinois underneath. The bottom banner is blue and contains the website information "https://lnkd.in/g-yyWe-u"

We are always so grateful for the support of our community. Thank you to Leadership Rockford, and especially to Gina, Nicole, Danielle, Aisha, and Kaleb for choosing us as one of the organizations! Your support will allow us to continue the work of our mission and make an impact in the lives of our survivors and their families.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. The Center on Partner-Inflicted Brain Injury at the Ohio Domestic Violence Network is a valuable resource for those who have been hurt on their head or neck. Their resources can also help us be good supports to those who are experiencing the symptoms of a brain injury. Please visit their website and social media to learn more. ID: Text on a purple background that reads, "How are Head Injuries Related to Domestic Violence? Abusers target a person's head, neck, or face more than anywhere else on the body. Head injuries may occur from: hits or blows to the head, neck, or face, being choked, strangled or had something done to you that made it hard to breathe, substance use and overdose, sexual violence, hitting your head against something hard after falling or being pushed, being shaken severely, lost consciousness or passed out." Ohio Domestic Violence Network logo is centered at the top with the hashtag #MyBrainInjuryJourney and website www.odvn.org/brain-injury/

Thank you to Collins Aerospace for hosting a goods drive to support the Family Peace Center! We are excited to share all these goodies with survivors and children we serve. Donations like these make a HUGE impact for our families! Thank you! ID: photo of donated items stacked on a white, round table. Items include soap bars, pads, tampons, socks, toiletries, cheddar broccoli soup mix, and more.

This is the second year these amazing young ladies and their teachers from RK Welsh Elementary School have donated their time and talents to making cozy blankets we can give to survivors who visit the FPC. We love their enthusiasm for helping! Thank you! ID: A picture of a group of young ladies and their teachers holding up a blanket they made in their waiting area of the Family Peace Center.

SURVIVOR SUPPORT GROUP Miranda Grisales-Buell from Healing Home Ayurveda will be back at our support group tonight at 5:30pm. As a certified Ayurvedic Health Practitioner, she will guide participants through a safe practice that can improve digestion and sleep and reduce stress. FPC intake is required for participation. FPC services are available to survivors of domestic and sexual violence at any stage of healing. Please contact the Center for more information or to sign up. Funding for this program is provided by the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board #domesticviolenceawareness #familyjusticecenter #rockfordil #wccmhb Image Description: text reads “Transformation through Seasonal Transitions with Miranda Grisales-Buell from Healing Home Ayurveda. Background is white with images of wildflowers across the bottom. Additional text reads: In this workshop, we will learn how to do a safe cleanse, what to do and not to do. We will also make a go-to Ayurvedic dish that leaves us feeling full and satisfied while cleansing. Logos for the Family Peace Center and Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board are at the top of the picture.

Our February Partner of the Month is our on-site legal advocate, Genita, from Remedies Renewing Lives! When survivors visit our center for assistance with filing orders of protection, Genita is their first point of contact, readily available to support them at a time of uncertainty and emotional distress. We are grateful to have Genita in our space every day at the Family Peace Center as she greets survivors with kindness and warmth when they need it most. #domesticviolenceawareness?#familyjusticecenter?#rockfordil ID: Danica (FPC) and Genita (Remedies Renewing Lives) are posed for a photo with the Partner of the Month award. There is a light purple and pink tie-dye border around the photo. The FPC logo is centered at the bottom.