Next Door Solutions

Next Door Solutions

Next Door promotes safety for battered women and their children through emergency shelter; multiple points of entry for victims; individuals, system and institutional advocacy; crisis intervention; education for victims and the community; and the changing of community norms through prevention activities.

Is California Next?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Or at least that’s what Georgia legislators are using to defend their decision to completely eliminate state funding to battered women shelters. While that may sound extreme, I wouldn’t be surprised if other states soon started to follow suit.

Dear Mr. Gibson, Abuse is Abuse.

Just last week, a confession was made by Mel Gibson that he did, in fact, slap Oksana but according to Gibson, he slapped her for her own good…I’m not making this up, folks. He really did say that.

Domestic Violence Affects Everyone

The People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) neighborhood experiment, which was filmed in South Africa using hidden cameras, is a powerful and disturbing one. The PSA begins with a man playing drums in his home late at night. Over the course of the evening, he receives several complaints from neighbors claiming that the noise is too loud.

Are Our Children Prepared to Go Back to School?

Autumn has arrived which means it’s back to school time! Gone are the summer days full of long vacations, reading for fun, and lounging by the pool. Instead, parents & children are now concerned with football games, homework, school dances, peer pressure, and grades. Unfortunately, we can add one more thing to the list of things to worry about: dating violence.

Lapse in Judgement or Abuse of Power?

Last week, it came to light that a prominent Wisconsin prosecutor was at the center of a sexual harassment scandal. A domestic violence victim said that District Attorney Ken Kratz made personal advances towards her through inappropriate text messages. Police documents show dozens of messages that were sent last year while Kratz was prosecuting the woman’s ex-boyfriend’s case.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

When I first heard Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie”, I was impressed. The lyrics of the song, which depict the cyclical nature of domestic violence, were gripping, raw, and touched me in a way that few songs rarely do. Each verse cycles through the violent argument, the apologetic pleas for forgiveness, and the promises given to the victim to keep her from leaving.  I was pleased to see attention brought to the issue of domestic violence and saw the song as a strong teaching tool… but all that changed once I saw the music video.

Arizona Immigration Law Harms Victims of Domestic Violence

By now most of us know about the new Arizona law that seeks to arrest undocumented persons and establish state charges for “illegal” presence in the state.  This law takes Arizona down a perilous path with implications of racial profiling, lack of constitutionality, and criminal justice intimidation.  One other very important ramification includes how the Latino community responds to crimes committed against individuals in their own neighborhoods.