L-R: Paolilli, Serino, Molinaro
HYDE PARK –Dutchess County officials on Wednesday announced funding to help stop domestic violence in the county.
State Senator Susan Serino (R, Hyde Park) secured $75,000 for the Domestic Abuse Response Team and the Lethality Assessment Program.
“Because it wreaks havoc on both family and community, I consider domestic abuse to be a particularly heinous crime,” Serino said.
County Executive Marcus Molinaro announced he was able to provide Family Services with the funding it needs to keep two domestic violence workers in the district attorney’s office.
The funding means the City and Town of Poughkeepsie, the City of Beacon and the Town of Hyde Park will all benefit from an outreach worker who would be on call the moment an incident of domestic violence is reported.
Hyde Park Police Chief Eric Paolilli said as head of the department he has seen immediate results from the programs.
“We have seen results where people we have dealt with in these domestic violence situations for long periods of time and really have been unable to offer anything substantive to break that cycle to where it results in the police being called,” Paolilli said. “We’ve been able to see her interject and direct the people who are involved to more meaningful ways to do it, to counselings, to social services programs, to things like that, and all of a sudden, it’s not a problem anymore.”
The chief said he has seen first-hand “the devastating and widespread effects domestic violence can have on our community as a whole. Helping victims of domestic violence comes with a particular set of challenges and this funding will provide us with a critical resource that will go a long way in helping us to improve public safety and protect local families.”
