The St. Louis County Police Department hosted a community meeting in Jennings tonight that was geared toward helping curb a rash of deadly domestic violence.
Police say over the past five months, the small north St. Louis County municipality of around 15,000 people has seen four homicides tied to violence in the home.
Superintendent of the Jennings School District, Tiffany Anderson, says the attacks have sent ripples through her classrooms. With that in mind, she says schools are uniquely positioned to be part of the solution.
“So, our goal is to ensure that students are safe, ensure that the community feels safe, and come together to problem solve this as a community,” Anderson says.
Anderson says the district will continue to explore ways to strengthen its partnerships with police and other agencies geared toward preventing violence.
Terrell Borum is with Safe Connections, a non-profit that focuses on helping people who have suffered violence in the home. The group was one of a number of similar agencies with representatives at the meeting, offering services that ranged from free legal representation to counseling.
Borum says prevention starts with a community wide response.
“A lot of people think that they’re the only one who is going through this, and they don’t know there’s help, that there are other people who understand what they’re going through that are willing to help them go through it,” Borum says. “I think that’s a really important part, people need to understand that there are people who are there for you, and that there are people who are there to support you.”
Borum also says it’s critical to teach young men to respect women, and what constitutes a healthy relationship.
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