NCJW participates in domestic violence prevention project

NCJW participates in domestic violence prevention project

Christine Ordway and Helen Archontou, board member and CEO of the YWCA Bergen County, left, with NCJWBCS members Sue Kanrich, Bari-Lynne Schwartz, Estelle Greene, and Ilene Wechter at the YWCA Healingspace Clothesline Project. (Courtesy NCJWBCS)
Christine Ordway and Helen Archontou, board member and CEO of the YWCA Bergen County, left, with NCJWBCS members Sue Kanrich, Bari-Lynne Schwartz, Estelle Greene, and Ilene Wechter at the YWCA Healingspace Clothesline Project. (Courtesy NCJWBCS)

Ten members of the Bergen County section of the National Council of Jewish Women recently participated in the YWCA Bergen County Healingspace Clothesline Project. The annual program, held outside the courthouse in Hackensack, raises community awareness of violence against women, men, and children, and demonstrates support for survivors. The project provides an artistic way for women to express their feelings and to describe personal experiences of violence.

Bergen County’s NCJW section is a long-time supporter of this project, now in its 20th year. This year, Maureen Shaw read an essay, “Find Your Voice and Carry a Big Sign,” about her journey from overcoming sexual assault as a teen to becoming an outspoken activist, writer, and mother. New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, both NCJW life members and recipients of the Hannah G. Solomon award, emphasized the New Jersey legislative and policy advances to protect survivors of sexual assault and their hope that one day the need for this project would at least diminish, if not disappear.

NCJW BCS provides educational and stimulating programs and speakers throughout the year, including six general meetings and a myriad of study groups, book groups, and trips. For more information, call (201) 385-4847 or go to www.ncjwbcs.org.

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