At New Horizons, we vision this world without violence to be a world where our children were protected and nurtured – and never exploited, abused or sold. A world where men would feel no pressure to prove their masculinity and could show their true emotions without feeling shame or embarrassment. A world where women were never objectified and sexualized – a world where a woman would never feel like she is only body parts and would never fall victim to misogynic injustices. A world where people of all ages and all genders and all ethnicities and all religions and all sexual orientations were treated equally and respectfully. A world where individuals and families in Southwest Minnesota would thrive.
Training starts every year in October! Contact New Horizons Crisis Center to become a volunteer advocate.
At New Horizons Crisis Center, you can make a difference. We are always looking for caring people to become volunteer advocates to staff our 24-hour crisis line.
When someone is in crisis or has a situation and they are not sure where to turn, New Horizons Crisis Center’s 24-crisis line is an available resource. The crisis line is a vital link to agency services as well as community resources and referrals.
Consider becoming a funding partner of New Horizons Crisis Center.
Just think...how many Minnesotans experienced sexual assault in 2005? If you added up every sexual assault victim, this would equal all of the residents of Lyon, Murray, Pipestone and Redwood counties – and that statistic is only one of many. Now where does that person go for help?
But the truth is that we do not live in a world free of violence. Our world is addicted to it – every minute, every hour, every day someone is affected – and these are not just numbers – these are our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons – these are the ones we love. The harmful effects of violence tear at the very fabric of our individual and community safety. We can no longer accept the world we live in and use such excuses as “it is just the way things are” to justify inaction. Violence is not “just the way things are” and should never be commonplace in our society. Now is the time to take action. There is much we can all do to take steps toward a world where no one experiences violence. At New Horizons, we try to make our imagined world a reality. Are you interested? You can take a step towards prevention by getting involved with New Horizons Crisis Center. Start having conversations about these issues, get more information and become educated, learn about different volunteering opportunities, or maybe just feel comfortable sharing victim service contact information with a friend or anyone in need of services. Wear a teal ribbon for sexual assault awareness. Place a blue ribbon magnet on your car for child abuse awareness. Or wear purple for domestic abuse awareness. It is time for us to speak up and set up proudly. We also know that there is no one strategy for the prevention of violence. As Cordelia Anderson, a nationally known speaker and consultant on prevention, stated regarding the prevention of sexual violence, “We live in a culture that likes quick fixes, simple sound bites or a pill to fix a complicated health problem. If prevention of sexual violence through the life span were a one-step simple solution, we wouldn't need victim services, sex offender treatment or monitoring or correctional services for these issues. In fact we wouldn't be here talking about prevention - we'd already be doing it. These problems are multifaceted and complex and the dosage and range of prevention strategies need to match the problem.” Together, we can take steps towards a reducing violence Southwest Minnesota. Contact New Horizons to learn more about what you can do to reduce violence and how you can get involved in our agency’s prevention efforts.
