Hutchinson, Kansas Domestic Violence Rehabilitation Program Receives Grant From Verizon Wireless

HUTCHINSON, KS — As part of the company’s national HopeLine program, Verizon Wireless announced today that it has donated $5,000 to the Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) for “Reaching Out From Within,” a voluntary violence prevention program that is focused on helping incarcerated men work through anger and violence issues.  The program utilizes a formal curriculum presented in the form of a “Blue Book,” which contains topics for use in private study and group discussions during weekly meetings.  The Blue Book also contains stories prepared by inmates who have improved in these areas and can offer support to those who continue to struggle.  The grant will help the program purchase copies of the Blue Book, writing tablets, pens and additional motivational materials, such as videos, posters, bookmarks and progress awards.

“Verizon Wireless has a long-standing commitment to domestic violence prevention, awareness and advocacy.  We are pleased to support a program that seeks to prevent domestic violence and provide rehabilitation to former offenders within the Hutchinson Correctional Facility.  The Reaching Out From Within program is making huge strides by advancing the way we approach domestic violence awareness and prevention programs,” said Brendan Fallis, president – Kansas/Missouri region, Verizon Wireless.

Founded in 2007, the Reaching Out From Within program operates in each of the HCF units and currently involves 83 inmate participants.  The program offers a forum for productive discussion about the destructive issues of domestic violence and anger management. HCF staff and volunteers from the local Hutchinson community sponsor the group meetings and are present at each gathering.

Through its assistance to communities, local shelters and agencies, Verizon’s HopeLine program is committed to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.  HopeLine from Verizon puts the nation’s most reliable wireless network to work in the community by turning no-longer-used wireless phones into support for victims and survivors of domestic violence.  Proceeds from the HopeLine program are used to provide wireless phones and airtime to victims of domestic violence and cash grants to local shelters and nonprofit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention.  Since the launch of the HopeLine phone recycling program in 2001, this initiative has awarded more than $14.2 million in cash grants, collected more than 9 million phones, and distributed nearly 123,000 phones with approximately 406 million minutes of free wireless service.

For more information about HopeLine from Verizon, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.  If you or someone you know is a domestic violence victim, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 to talk to a counselor.  All calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline are confidential.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network.  The company serves nearly 96 million retail customers, including 90.4 million retail postpaid customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 75,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com.  To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia. 

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