In an emergency, dial 911 or call the National Domestic Violence 24-Hour Hotline at 800-799-7233 or 800-787-3224 TTY for counseling assistance. Visit thehotline.org for more information.
In Illinois, call 877-863-6338. Visit The Netowk: Advocating Against Domestic Violence for more information.
As a part of Domestic Violence Outeach which began as a parish-based ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago, the three-part mission of the Queen of Apostles Domestic Violence Outreach Ministry (DVO) is:
Awareness * Services * Prevention
This mission is met through:
- Awareness
- Ribbon campaign for October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Parish communications: posters and cards at church, bulletin articles
- Services
- Hosting and promoting local counseling services through Catholic Charities
- Promoting 24-hour Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline information
- Training for parish staff members
- Prevention
- Teen Dating Safety training for youth in Confirmation Preparation and parish youth group
- Anti-violence and anti-abuse initiatives including educational flyers for parishioners distributed after Mass; past topics included reducing holiday stress and signs of dating violence
One does not need to be a victim or know a survivor of domestic violence to care about this issue. In their lifetimes, at least 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will be affected by violence from a romantic partner, spouse, relative, caregiver or other domestic partner. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has written When I Cry for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence which emphasizes that an abused person does not have to stay in an unsafe relationship or home.
- Queen of Apostles Parish will honor Domestic Violence Awareness month in October.
- Father Chuck Dahm will speak at our Spanish mass at 12:30pm on a date to be confirmed, with a follow-up meeting to be held in the parish office the same week.
- Our ministry will host its first DV awareness/prevention panel on October 14.
- Our DV awareness walk is scheduled for October 17 at 10am.
- More information will be available in our parish bulletin.
- The DVO Ministry usually meets in-person at the Parish Center, 4412 N Western Ave. on the 4th Thursday of the month at 7pm. (These dates & times can change – please call the parish office to confirm at 773-539-7510.)
Resources from the current DVO program
Love Me Not Podcast