Family Safety Where It All Comes Together

The prevalence of violence within personal relationships is staggering. One in four women are physically or sexually abused by a partner at some point in their lives. As many as 80 percent of intimate partner physical assaults go unreported. In central Maryland alone, more than 500 adults and 700 children needed shelter from domestic violence last year. Our Family Safety initiative will target men, women and children in our region who are victims of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect.

Click on the image above to view United Way of Central Maryland’s Family Safety television commerical. To download the video, right-click (CTRL-click for Mac users) on the image and select "Save Target As." .............................................. Click here to download the  United Way Report on Family Safety  [PDF]

The Vision

People in central Maryland are safe from violence and abuse in their relationships.

The Challenges

• In central Maryland alone, there were 37 domestic violence-related homicides last year.
• Across the country, every day, more than three children die as a result of child abuse.
• Most incidents of violence within relationships go unreported.

The Goals

• Through increased access to services, reduce the harm and impact for victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and child abuse and neglect.
• Provide competent legal representation to victims.
• Prevent the cycle of abuse by increasing awareness.

Measures of Success

• An increase in access of legal and support services by victims.
• Better awareness of issues around family violence.
• People in high-risk, potentially lethal situations understand the seriousness of their situations.