New Scholarship Just For Women

(Newburgh) - In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Safe Homes of Orange County, and in memory of past employee Ursula Forem, friends and family have established a new scholarship fund for women, to be awarded on Thursday, October 26, 2006, at Safe Homes’ Anniversary and Celebration of Hope Dinner.

The Ursula Forem Scholarship Fund is open to any woman currently enrolled in college, majoring in Women Studies, Human Services or Social Work. The recipient will also demonstrate Ursula’s vision for the prevention of violence against women and children, and for the enforcement of the accountability of perpetrators. The scholarship will be partly funded by a benefit drawing to be held at the agency’s dinner in October, at The Round Hill House, in Washingtonville. The Mid-Hudson Valley Credit Union is the Printing Sponsor of the drawing. Raffle tickets are now on sale. For ticket purchase, call Mayra at 568-5031 or Safe Homes at 562-5365. Raffle prizes are $200, $50 and $25. Winners need not be present.

Ursula Forem was killed in a tragic car accident in February of 2001. Co-workers, friends and family members remember her most for her boundless energy and enthusiasm, always undaunted the enormity of her task. At the time of her passing, Ursula was the Coordinator of the Rural Project, a collaborative effort of the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV), the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Division of Criminal Justice Services. Prior to joining the OPDV, she worked at Safe Homes in Newburgh, from 1990-1998, wearing many hats. She was responsible for the implementation of the New York State Model of Domestic Violence Policy for Counties, resulting in such measures as county-funded training for law enforcement, an adaptation of the Dutchess County Bench Manual for Magistrates, and the County Executive’s issuance of a domestic violence policy for county employees. Instrumental to the battered women’s movement in the region, she became the Coordinator of the Orange County Coalition for a Public Response to Private Violence, a county-wide task force to end domestic violence. Ursula was also an active contributor to the development of the Child Protective Services/Domestic Violence Link project, one of two pilot projects funded by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services in 1996.

Safe Homes is Orange County’s only non-profit agency fully dedicated to providing comprehensive services to individuals and families affected and displaced by domestic violence. Safe Homes’ programs include a shelter facility, a 24-hour hotline, advocacy, court-accompaniment, El Abrazo de Mis Hermanas, support groups and community outreach and education. For more information you can call the Safe Homes office at 562-5365.