Somerset County proclaims October 2025 for domestic-violence awareness and Healthier Somerset, recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month

The Somerset County Board of County Commissioners opened its regular meeting with three proclamations recognizing community observances in October 2025.

A presiding official read a proclamation designating October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and commended Safe and Sound Somerset for 47 years of service. Joelle Piercy, director of outreach and community engagement for Safe and Sound Somerset, said, "Last year, our organization served almost 7,000 individuals," which she described as nearly 2% of the county population. Anna Campos of the organization's legal team said they "engage with about 682 survivors in court" and help obtain "about 800 final restraining orders." The proclamation described domestic violence as "a pattern of abusive behavior" and noted national-level statistics cited during the reading.

The board also designated October 2025 as Healthier Somerset Month, highlighting a county coalition that promotes healthy behaviors, community partnerships and policy efforts to improve public health. Participants at the meeting urged residents to follow the coalition’s work online and to take part in local health activities.

The commissioners recognized Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15–Oct. 15) and invited Hispanic community leaders to speak. Monica Milan, introduced as chair of the Somerset County Business Partnership and a leader with the State Hispanic Chamber, told the board that "in the State of New Jersey, Hispanic-owned businesses contribute to $100,000,000,000 to our gross domestic product annually." Viviana Cardenas, a local small-business owner and photographer, described her experience as an immigrant business owner and thanked the board for the recognition.

County health staff described local Hispanic outreach programs and advisory councils that coordinate health fairs and services for the Hispanic community. An unidentified commissioner present noted she is the "first, and only Latina representative for the Board of Somerset County Commissioners," and offered personal family context in support of the proclamations.

The board presented the proclamations publicly and thanked the organizations and residents for their work. No formal votes were required to read or present the proclamations; the meeting proceeded to business items after the recognitions.