Belmont County Commissioner Vince Gianangeli, on left, Tri-County Help Center Legal Advocate Lakyn Phillips, Commissioners J.P. Dutton, Jerry Echemann, and Tri-County Help Center Coordinator Megan Talkington honor domestic violence survivors as the board of Commissioners declare October to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — October is underway and the Belmont County Board of Commissioners declared it Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Tri-County Help Center Coordinator Megan Talkington spoke to the board about the various programs it offers.

“At Tri-County Health Center, we offer counseling, legal advocacy. We also offer classes such as parenting DAIP [Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs]. We also have emergency shelter and case management services,” Talkington said. “We do a lot of community education and outreach as well.”

She added that the theme for this year’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month is “Domestic Violence Is Everyone’s Business.” Talkington hopes that this year’s theme will highlight to the community that everybody has a role to play in addressing domestic violence.

“Whether it’s offering support to a friend, advocating policy changes, or participating in community programs, collective action can lead to significant change,” she said.

Tri-County will offer a free self-defense class at 5 p.m. Oct. 14, at the St. Clairsville Rec Center.

It will also have its annual domestic violence awareness march at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 15, which will begin at its office at 104 N Marietta Street.

The march will go to the Belmont County Courthouse where names of Belmont, Harrison and Monroe county residents who have died from domestic violence will be read. It will then return to Tri-County’s office where hors d’oeuvres and appetizers will be served.

At 8 p.m. Oct. 24, Tri-County Help Center and YWCA Wheeling will be co-hosting the third annual Striking Out Domestic Violence event, a free bowling event at St. Clair Lanes.

Talkington said that residents are required to pre-register for the event by calling St. Clair Lanes at 740-695-3641.

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Tri-County has placed a mannequin along with domestic violence statistics stating that one in four women and one in seven men are affected by domestic violence at the recently opened Trinity Health System Neighborhood Hospital.

Talkington added that Monroe County Public Library in Woodfield and Puskarich Public Library in Cadiz will also display those statistics but, instead of a mannequin, there will be recommendations of books written by domestic violence survivors.

Tri-County is also hosting a fundraising raffle throughout the entire month of October.

The fundraiser is called Cash in a Bag. Tickets are $20 a piece and the winner will receive a Kate Spade tote bag and $2,000 in cash. $10 of each ticket goes into the bag, and $10 goes towards Tri-County Help Center.

Talkington said that the drawing will be done on Tri-County Help Center’s Facebook account on a Facebook Live video once 200 tickets are sold.

The final Domestic Violence Awareness Month event for the organization will be the Paws and Stretch event at 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at Vintage Fitness in Cadiz. The event is hosted by Keesey Chiropractic Dr. Dominique Keesey.

Talkington said that the event is a path to physical and emotional healing through stretching and puppies.

She said if interested, residents must register by contacting 740-942-1018.

Commissioner J.P. Dutton said that the several events this month are just another example of all of the great work and advocacy that Tri County does throughout the entire year.

“You guys do a phenomenal job of highlighting these important issues throughout the year. Domestic violence is among those, and to do this many events in one month, it’s pretty impressive, especially covering all three counties and trying to make sure we have things going on in each county is really impressive,” Dutton said. “We appreciate all the events here in Belmont County and the outreach that keeps the discussion going throughout the month and hopefully continues throughout the year.”

Commissioner Jerry Echemann then asked Talkington how many employees Tri-County Help Center has. Talkington said the center has 25 employees, but it also works with private contractors for additional therapy and also contracts with legal advocates.

Commissioner Vince Gianangeli then asked how many people Talkington believes Tri-County serves.

She replied that its fiscal year spans from July to July. And through this past fiscal year it served about 100 people for legal advocacy. She added that it served about 52 survivors in its shelter and then around 400 people for counseling services.

Dutton then asked if the relationship between Tri-County and local law enforcement agencies are still strong. Talkington said that Tri-County tries to maintain and build good relationships with all law enforcement officers in all three counties and courts as well.

Dutton then made a proclamation declaring October to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month.