V-Day Apex in conjunction with COHI raise money for a Soft Interview Room and officer, detective, and first responder trainings in Apex, N.C.

A group of Apex women and businesses have united to support V-Day 2009, a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

“I believe an inspired, committed community can together take steps toward preventing violence,” says Somer Cooper, a V-Day Apex 2009 Community Organizer.

Eighty percent of the funds raised this year will be donated to the Apex Police Department to build a “soft” interview room where detectives and officers can meet with victims of crimes and their family members in a private, non-threatening environment. The funds will also be used for officer training focused on responding to domestic and sexual violence. Since the new Apex police station is currently undergoing construction, this is the perfect time to raise funds for the creation of this room.

V-Day Apex 2009 is proud to be sponsored by Circle of Health International (COHI), an international non-profit with a mission to build the capacity of women’s health care professionals in crisis settings. Ten percent of funds raised by V-Day Apex 2009 will be donated to COHI, and 10 percent will be donated to V-Day’s global campaign.

Plice Chief Jack Lewis offered this quote:

"The Apex Police Department is committed to the philosophy of Community Policing, which quite simply stated is having active partnerships with the citizens and community we serve. Through those relationships we are better enabled to identify and solve problems, address needs that exist, by working together to find solutions.

In this time, when we like all entities are faced with the effect of an economic downturn, we are most appreciative that local supporters of V-Day, a campaign to end violence against women, are working with our Department to enhance our response capabilities in these types of incidents.

Funds raised through the V-Day events will help us furnish a special interview room, where our Detectives and Officers can meet with victims of crimes and their family members in an environment that is more relaxed and comfortable. We realize that in these very difficult moments, providing a more relaxed and less stressful environment than typically found in a standard interview room or police office can help the healing process begin. In our new police facility which is under construction and slated for completion in December 2009, we have programmed space for such a “soft” interview room, and we look forward to working with our partners to furnish and equip this space for maximum effectiveness. Additional funds may enable us to secure and provide specialized investigative training to our personnel who deal with incidents, both our first responders and the Detectives who conduct the follow up investigations."