Alliance fizzled 5 years ago after grant ended
After a five-year hiatus, the Putnam County Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Task Force has regrouped.
It includes the Putnam/Northern Westchester Women’s Resource Center, the District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Department, the Probation Department and local police departments.
The alliance disbanded when a grant that came through the Probation Department expired but Ann Ellsworth, director of the Women’s Resource Center, organized an effort to again work together to share information and promote services available to victims.
District Attorney Robert Tendy said each of his nine assistant district attorneys is trained in handling domestic violence cases. In addition, many cases are intertwined with drug and alcohol abuse by offenders and victims, he said.
“At any point in a day, you’re probably sitting next to someone who is touched by domestic violence,” he said. “This task force is a place they can turn to.”
