This October, Philadelphia became the first U.S. city to create a position within its government tasked with focusing on the citywide response to domestic violence. We were thrilled to see our own Azucena Ugarte, Director of Prevention, Education, and Technical Assistance, appointed to this new role. 

Read about Azucena's new role

Women Against Abuse is proud to be part of Shared Safety, Philadelphia's coordinated response to relational violence. Shared Safety brings together over 50 organizations to coordinate the city's response to relational violence across sectors. We will publish updates about this transformational work to our website, as well as to our Facebook and Twitter pages using the hashtag #SharedSafety, as they become available.

Learn more on our website

When a survivor's child was in trouble, Beth Huffman helped organize a press conference to get the story out on behalf of Women Against Abuse's Legal Center. Today, Beth and Dechert LLC stand with survivors of domestic violence by partnering with Women Against Abuse during the holidays for the Adopt-A-Family program. 

Read Beth's story

The holidays are upon us, and you know what that means - it's time for our Holiday Gift Drive! Each year, we hold a gift drive to ensure that the families we serve enjoy the holidays together as they move forward and heal from domestic abuse. Celebrate the season and share the spirit of giving by supporting our clients through our Holiday Gift Drive and our Adopt-A-Family program.

Take part in Holiday Gift Drive 2016

On September 30th, we launched off our 9th Annual iPledge® campaign with the help of Mayor Jim Kenney and our community partners. Our press conference focused on the intersection of domestic violence and child abuse, because there are no safe children without safe families. We honored Dr. Sam P. Gulino, Chief Medical Examiner and Chair of the Act 33 Child Fatality Review Team, and recited the pledge against domestic violence together. Though Domestic Violence Awareness Month is over, you can download the iPledge® Toolkit now and raise your voice against domestic violence year-round. Visit iPledgeWAA.org to download the iPledge® Toolkit. 

Watch the video of our iPledge press conference

In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Women Against Abuse's Public Policy team, Advocacy Committee, and other dedicated staff members were busy supporting voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts with both staff and residents. On National Voter Registration Day on September 27th, Women Against Abuse team members hosted a voter registration drive at our safe havens. In addition, our team members encouraged residents to safely exercise their right to vote by providing important Election Day information and support. Our staff members invested in these efforts to  ensure that our voices, and those of our clients, are being heard now and in future election years. Though the election is over, we encourage our supporters to continue standing with survivors. Get ideas by visiting the Take Action Center on our website. 

Visit the Take Action Center now

Check out our most-shared media coverage this fall!

• 9th Annual "iPledge" Campaign - View on 6abc.com 

• Kenney creates new post to combat domestic violence - Read on Philly.com 

• Op-ed: Why Philadelphia City Hall needs a dedicated advocate for domestic violence survivors - Read on NewsWorks.org 

• Verizon Wireless, Philadelphia Eagles launch domestic violence awareness campaign - Read on Phillytrib.com 

• How to help in Philadelphia after Trump's election - Read on Metro.us