Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 988

Tonight's special guest is Kimberly Mackanic, MSW, LCSW, a councilor at SAFE in Hunterdon in Flemington, New Jersey, since July 2011. Their mission is to empower adult and child survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, while collaborating with the community to prevent violence and create positive social change. They have a 24-hour hotline and provide safe and transitional housing, legal advocacy, crisis intervention, individual and group counseling, community education and PALS, and a unique children’s arts therapy program. SAFE in Hunterdon delivers critical support services to the many families that have experienced violence in their lives. In her role, Kimberly provides individual and group counseling services for victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse in the community, as well as to survivors of abuse who are incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women (where an estimated 85% of the population are survivors of abuse). She is also a facilitator for the agency's 80-hour Volunteer Training program. Kimberly entered the field after completing her Master's in Social Work at Rutgers University, with an area of emphasis in Violence Against Women & Children, and completed her clinical license in 2014. Additionally, she has discussed her work with incarcerated survivors on panel discussions at V-day Flemington ("What I Want My Words to do to You") in 2014 and at Rutgers University Law School ("Crime After Crime: Debbie's Law") in 2012. Kimberly has also been an advocate for survivors of sexual violence via performances in nine productions of The Vagina Monologues throughout NJ since 2006.