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Serene Harbor tells Sebastian Council about local services for domestic violence survivors
Summary
Lindsay Antoine of Serene Harbor described the nonprofit’s shelter, legal advocacy, counseling and prevention work and asked the city to share hotline information with residents.
Lindsay Antoine, prevention specialist and child case manager at Serene Harbor, told the City of Sebastian Council that the nonprofit provides emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy and prevention education for survivors of domestic violence. Antoine said Serene Harbor operates a 20-bed emergency shelter, a staff attorney who helps survivors seek injunctions for protection and a 24/7 helpline staffed by advocates she described as available "to help them and assist them." She also detailed prevention work including workplace trainings, school outreach on teen dating violence and collaboration with law enforcement on safety planning. The council thanked Antoine, asked for flyers with the 24/7 number to distribute and acknowledged the organization’s pet kennels program, created after staff noted that more than 65% of survivors hesitate to leave abusive situations for fear of abandoning pets. Antoine closed by urging community compassion and education as tools to break the cycle of abuse.
This presentation occurred during the public comment/guest presentation portion of the meeting and did not require council action.
