$10,000 donation to help victims of human trafficking, sexual and domestic abuse

A donation of $10,000 has reached the doorstep of the Valley Crisis Center in Merced for the third consecutive year.

The Anberry Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has provided the extra funding Valley Crisis needs for more services in domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual assault, said Chee Yang, program director for Valley Crisis.

Some of the money will go toward the center’s lip balm project, Yang said. The project will create lip balm containers that bear a special barcode printed with the crisis center’s hotline number. The lip balm is a discrete way for individuals to carry a phone number in case they need to call for help.

Such projects are not covered through state funding, Yang said, and donations like these offer “extra help for us so we can provide better services.”

For this month, Yang said, Valley Crisis has been providing youths with information on domestic violence in light of the nationally recognized Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.

Valley Crisis staff members have been talking to students about building healthy relationships and how to spot domestic violence.

“This is an opportunity for us to finally fund it and make it impactful for the community,” Yang said.

Youths should be focusing on school and making friends, Yang said, but sometimes they’re also dealing with relationship issues and difficult living conditions.

“Sometimes, individuals fail to realize it doesn’t matter how old you are or what your economic status is,” Yang said. “It happens everywhere, and teenage violence happens to a majority of our kids.”

Dating violence affects 1 in 10 teens, according to information on the Valley Crisis website, and very few of them tell anyone who would be able to help.

“If we silence the violence, there is no way we can provide resources and services,” Yang said.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 2:56 PM with the headline "$10,000 donation to help victims of human trafficking, sexual and domestic abuse."