The Vera House prepares for the 2025 White Ribbon Campaign to bring awareness to domestic abuse. © 2025 Vera House
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT: The Vera House announces plans and goals for the 2025 White Ribbon Campaign
George Kilpatrick: There is no excuse for abuse.
Elizabeth Gottlieb: George Kilpatrick is the Vera House’s director of prevention education and is currently preparing for the 31st White Ribbon Campaign. District Attorney William Fitzpatrick is the honorary chair for this year’s campaign. Kilpatrick says funds from the campaign will be used to provide clothes, toiletries and training to get victims back on their feet.
Kilpatrick: When we have unrestricted funds, it gives us the flexibility to serve our clients, serve our survivors in the best way we can.
Gottlieb: CEO of the Vera House, Trisha Matthews, says that prevention education for abuse is still crucial today.
Trisha Matthews: If we’re really going to be honest with whatever, it’s in everybody’s circle and it’s going to take all of us to stand up to it. So, those are the conversations I’m having to educate people that we all have to stand up for.
Gottlieb: The White Ribbon Campaign walk will be held April 25 at Clinton Square in support of ending domestic violence against all victims. Elizabeth Gottlieb, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The Vera House is currently preparing for their 2025 White Ribbon Campaign. The campaign will kick off on April 2 with a breakfast reception. Later in the month, the White Ribbon Campaign walk will be held on April 25 at Clinton Square. This year’s White Ribbon Campaign honorary chair is District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.
The director of education prevention George Kilpatrick said funds from the campaign will be used to provide clothes, toiletries and training to get victims back on their feet.
“When we have unrestricted funds, it gives us the flexibility to serve our clients, serve our survivors in the best way we can,” said Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick said the goal of the campaign is to bring awareness to domestic abuse and for the community to learn how to keep others accountable.
“My hope is that, that we raise awareness that as a community, we see it as our responsibility to get educated. There’s some things that we have allowed culturally with the society that we sort of ingrained. And so in some ways, we have to unlearn something,” said Kilpatrick.
CEO of the Vera House, Trisha Matthews, said that prevention education for abuse is still crucial today.
“If we’re really going to be honest with whatever, it’s in everybody’s circle and it’s going to take all of us to stand up to it. So, those are the conversations I’m having to educate people that we all have to stand up for,” said Matthews.
Matthews said that no two domestic abuse cases are the same. The White Ribbon Campaign is an effort to spread the Vera House’s message, so the community knows the resources available.
“Prevention education is where it all begins,” said Matthews.