Juniata County proclaims April Sexual Assault Awareness month
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MIFFLINTOWN -- April 2025 was proclaimed Sexual Assault Awareness Month by Juniata County Commissioners, who issued the statement Tuesday during the board's weekly meeting.
Rebecca Wills, public training coordinator on behalf of the Abuse Network accepted this proclamation.
"This is the time to bring attention to the widespread issue of sexual violence and empower communities to take action. This year's theme, 'Together We Act, United We Change,' highlights the power of working together to create safer, more respectful environments for all," the proclamation states.
"Sexual abuse, assault and harassment affect individuals of every background. To address this, we must promote education around consent, healthy communication and bystander intervention. By equipping individuals and communities with these tools, we can help prevent violence before it starts and foster a culture of respect and care."
The proclamation stated that more than half of women and nearly 30% of men reported experiencing contact sexual violence.
"Together, we act; united, we change. By standing in solidarity, we can build a future free from sexual violence and create a world where everyone is safe, valued, and respected," the proclamation stated.
The Abuse Network can be reached at its 24-hour hotline at 1-888-810-2444 for survivors to access services.
There is no cost for services and services are confidential. Some of the services we provide survivors of sexual violence are empowerment counseling, medical and legal advocacy and accompaniment.
"We know sex trafficking is occurring in Juniata County because we are serving victims at The Abuse Network. We are working to educate the community in an effort to prevent sexual violence as well as providing services to survivors," said Wills.
Wills also shared information regarding a social media event called Selfies with the Goose where you can post your selfie as a comment under the pinned post at the top of their Facebook page for a chance to win a $25 gift card.
Their goose is part of the community wide art project "Wild Geese: Flock Together" led by Community Partnerships located on the corner of Market and Dorcas Street in Lewistown.
Also during Tuesday's meeting, Commissioners approved a licensing agreement between PennDOT and Juniata County for a nonexclusive video sharing license agreement.
"This grants us access to the traffic cameras on state highways in Juniata County to be viewed in emergency situations on county-used computers," says Adam Waite, Juniata County 911 director.
Commissioners granted authority to Waite to sign the agreement.
Commissioners also approved an agreement between Juniata County Government on behalf of Juniata County Children and Youth Services and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to have one statewide data-sharing program.
This will allow them to have one database to store confidential family information known as the The Child Welfare Information Solution Data Sharing agreement and will take into effect on October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.
Commissioners also took action on the following agenda items:
Approve the service solutions agreement with OAESYS for the period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The amount of the service agreement is $6,304;
Approve the agreement between Juniata County on behalf of Juniata County Children and Youth Services and Avanco International, Inc. for upgrade and maintenance services related to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System;
Approve the agreement between Juniata County Children and Youth Services and Maddie Armstrong to provide duties as may be reasonably assigned at an hourly rate of $20;
Approved the March 2025 change of assessment report submitted by the Assessment Office, as well as the first quarter cash report submitted by the Tax Claim Office, the first quarter UPI report submitted by the UPI Coordinator, the treasures report, sheriff's office report, the probation report and the Children and Youth Services report.