Stop Abuse Today, Inc.
Mission & Background:
Stop Abuse Today, Inc is a nonprofit whose purpose is to support abuse victims and their families. Our primary objective is to provide education, awareness, outreach, and support concerning domestic abuse, elder abuse, and bullying among our youth. Focusing on elder abuse and bullying in addition to domestic abuse makes our group unique.
We strive to develop partnerships with our school systems, public safety officials, community groups, and local and state government leaders. We purposely collaborate with a diverse group of individuals who have the ability and expertise to focus on different aspects of the education, prevention, and recovery process. Our members and partners have the ability to provide emotional support and counsel as well as the ability to assist in working with law enforcement and the court system. Working together as a cohesive group of people from varying backgrounds allows us to contribute to the cause from different perspectives, which in turn allows us the ability to provide a more comprehensive service overall.
We are made up of many moving parts and we have an obligation to make certain that we have the most proficient process in place so that we can provide the most effective service possible. As a result, our organization includes individual Task Forces that work independently of one another. This allows us to coordinate our assets and integrate personnel, priorities, and protocols more efficiently. Having individual groups focus on one subject then bring their ideas forward allows us to successfully organize plans with a consistent and equitable approach and allows us to generate a productive and well-organized operating system. While sometimes it will take creative ideas to overcome the challenges that we are sure to face, working within a controlled and ordered system will allow us to produce a truly professional organization.
We do not receive direct funding from municipal or government agencies so we are reliant on donations and grants to operate. We would like to thank all those who have donated in the past and would like to ensure you that donations will be utilized to provide support for the greatest amount of people possible. We firmly believe that we must all work together to promote healthy relationships to help prevent the abuse that afflicts our communities, families, senior citizens, and today’s youth.
History & Formation:
On January 11th, 2001, Sheryl Crane Loder was murdered by her estranged husband in Wales Massachusetts. All of a sudden, the little town of Wales was shaken to its core. This tragedy affected everyone, including those in neighboring towns. Now, everyone knew about the abuse that had been happening in Sheryl’s life and how she kept that terrible secret between herself and her abuser.
First and foremost Sheryl was a mother. She always spoke of her daughter with pride, referring to any new interests and milestones. As an employee of the Monson Development Center Sheryl embodied kindness while helping her clients reach their full potential. She showed them how to live their lives with purpose. At Hitchcock Academy, Sheryl's work included promoting the programs offered while she was on the frontline serving her community. Whether it was caring for her daughter, her ailing mother, or her clients & the community, Sheryl always gave of herself with kindness and love.
As a way to honor her memory and to make sure this never happens again, friends of Sheryl, banded together to form the Tri-Town Domestic Violence Task Force. The Task Force proudly served the citizens of Brimfield, Holland and Wales Massachusetts over the years and worked not only to support abuse survivors but to raise awareness in our communities on how to break the cycle of domestic violence. What started as a brutal crime became a legacy of hope that we can all live in a world without domestic violence.
On November 3rd, 2017, at a meeting of the members, the Task Force was designated as the charter member of Stop Abuse Today, Inc. At its inception, the original trustees formed an Executive Governance Committee of Officers to oversee the organization. Building upon the foundation that the Task Force provided us we became self-sufficient in all areas of the operation, in part by establishing a regulations document that includes articles of organization, bylaws, and formal meeting rules.
On January 4th, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service officially classified Stop Abuse Today, Inc as a 501 c 3 tax-exempt organization.
Partnership:
At its inception, Stop Abuse Today, Inc named our own Police Chief, Bryan Haughey, as the very first Chair of the Executive Governance Committee of Officer's. The Committee is composed of 7 members and is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the organization and its member groups. Chief Haughey authored the Rules and Orders for the Governance of Stop Abuse Today, Inc, including the articles of organization, articles of bylaw and constitution, articles of executive governance committee and articles of meeting procedure.
The Holland Police Department is very proud to be affiliated with this group and we look forward to continuing to work with the other individuals who volunteer their time for such an important cause.
