- January 12, 2025
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The Family Life Center and the Flagler County Domestic Violence Task Force are presenting their second annual Rise Up Against Domestic Violence conference.
The conference will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 14, at Palm Coast’s Daytona State College Campus. The conference will break down into two sessions with a total of eight discussion topics, each led by a member of Flagler County’s Domestic Violence Task Force.
The half-day conference will include discussions on what the Bible has to say about domestic violence, how domestic violence impacts children, the signs of domestic violence and more. The task force members leading the discussions are from all walks of life — a chaplain, several Flagler County Public Schools employees, Flagler County Sheriff Office detectives — all coming together, educating people on and bringing awareness to domestic violence.
“The idea is to promote education about domestic violence,” said Trish Giaccone, chief executive officer of the Family Life Center. “It really is a community effort.”
Giaccone said a lot of victims may not even know the extent of resources available to them in Flagler County. The Family Life Center connects victims and survivors to the help they need, through outreach services.
The Family Life Center’s in-house services include a 24-hour emergency shelter, with clothing and food provided. Its reduced COVID capacity is 12, Giaccone said, but those who need shelter can stay for eight to 12 weeks, depending on their situation. These services are available to all in need regardless of gender, orientation or age.
“When we say domestic violence crosses all boundaries, we mean domestic violence crosses all boundaries,” Giaccone said.
The shelter can connect survivors to a lawyer or Department of Child Services liaisons as needed. It also has advocates available 24 hours a day helping current victims. Survivors rebuilding their lives find and take their next steps there.
The center even, Giaccone said, has a youth advocate for kids, helping them process what’s going on.
Palm Coast City Councilman John Fanelli works with the task force through his work with Flagler County Public Schools.
During the conference, Fanelli will co-lead a discussion session called “ACE’s and Handle with Care.” ACE’s, Fanelli said, stands for ‘adverse children’s experiences’ and focuses on how research shows certain childhood experiences can lead to specific issues later in a child’s life.
His presentation partner, Taurean Wilson, a mental health counselor, will lead that part of the discussion while Fanelli will discuss the program FCPS has in place to mitigate these experiences — Handle with Care.
The program partners schools with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to reduce a student’s stress if they are acting out because of a traumatic situation. The FCSO and FDJJ send basic information to the schools, Fanelli said — nothing detailed, to protect confidentiality, usually just a name and birthdate — and lets the school know the child is going through a traumatic event.
It could be anything: a home domestic violence situation, the death of a family member, a car accident.
Knowing that there is something going on prevents the student from being punished if they aren’t following the rules, Fanelli said.
Normally, a student might be written up if they are acting out, out of dress code, tardy, or even crying or sleeping in class.
“But if it’s related to trauma, the last thing we need to do is add to that [stress],” Fanelli said. “Basically, what we’re doing is handling the student with care — exactly what the title [of the program] is.”
Educating and aiding children dealing with domestic violence cases is just one side of the puzzle. It is equally important to educate people about what domestic violence entails.
That includes teaching people about the cross-section between intimate partners and sexual abuse, something FCSO Detective Jordan St. John will undertake toward the end of the conference.
St. John spent five years as a road patrol officer, she said, and another year on major cases like sex crimes.\
She said she’d volunteered to join the task force six months ago to be a voice for the voiceless.
A big part of that, she said, is informing people about their options — including the fact that they don’t necessarily have to make a report to the police, she said.
“That’s the beauty of the task force,” St. John said. “It puts all [the options] together in a room.”
Events like Rise Up are critical to opening up that dialogue and getting people the best help they can, she said.
“I’m one part of a big puzzle,” she said, “and it’s about getting people to their best quality of life.”
Anyone who wants to attend the Rise Up Against Domestic Violence conference can sign up at Eventbrite. The conference is free.
Anyone needing help can call the Family Life Center hotline at 386-437-3505.
