For 50 years, Younity has stood beside survivors, offering safety, hope, healing, and the support to build a life free from abuse.
As we celebrate our Golden Anniversary, we’re reflecting on the people, partnerships, and moments that have shaped our journey since 1977. Survivors, advocates, volunteers, donors, staff, and community partners have all helped build Younity into the organization it is today.
Throughout the coming year, we’ll look back on the milestones that brought us here, celebrate the work happening every day across our programs, and look ahead with hope for the future.
This anniversary is a celebration of everyone who has been part of Younity’s story over the past five decades. Together, we’ll honor our past, celebrate our present, and look ahead to the next chapter of Younity’s story.
Follow Our Anniversary Journey
Our 50th anniversary celebration will continue throughout the year as we share stories, historical milestones, special events, and moments that reflect the people and purpose behind Younity’s work.
Be sure to visit our News & Eventspage regularly to follow the celebration and stay connected.
For decades, conversations about safety on college campuses focused largely on policies, enforcement, and response after harm occurred. Blue-light emergency phones, reporting systems, and disciplinary procedures were developed to respond to violence after it happened.
Today, many colleges are expanding that conversation. Increasingly, the focus is on prevention. The goal is not only to respond to harm but to help stop it before it begins.
Matt McMahon, a prevention educator at Princeton University, describes himself as a “preventionist.” He leads prevention programming within Princeton University’s SHARE office (Sexual Harassment/Assault, Advising, Resources, and Education). Before joining Princeton, he spent nearly a decade leading campus violence prevention and peer education initiatives at the University of Delaware and contributed to international efforts addressing gender-based violence through work with the United Nations and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The term preventionist reflects both his professional role and his belief that violence is not inevitable.
“I really do strongly believe that we can live in a world without violence,” McMahon said. “With the right tools, skills, and honest communication, we can create communities where people don’t experience harm in the first place.”
Understanding Power and Harm
Early in his career, McMahon often used the phrase gender-based violence. Over time, his language evolved.
While women experience sexual violence at higher rates than cisgender men, he believes it is important to recognize that harm can affect anyone.
“It’s not about sex or intimacy,” he explained. “It’s about power and control.”
For that reason, he now often uses the term power-based violence. The phrase highlights how unequal power dynamics can lead to harm in relationships and communities.
“I’m a cis white man from North America, and I recognize that I have privilege that comes with that,” he said. “Privilege and power are not inherently bad. But when they go unacknowledged and unchecked, they can be misused.”
Prevention work, he says, involves helping people recognize those dynamics and encouraging respectful relationships rooted in consent and mutual understanding.
A Pivotal Moment for Young Adults
McMahon believes college campuses offer a unique opportunity for prevention work. Students arrive at college during a time when they are forming their identities and exploring new relationships.
“When students come to college, they are figuring out who they are,” he said. “They are thinking about their values, their boundaries, and what respect looks like in relationships.”
These conversations can shape how young adults approach relationships, communication, and responsibility.
“The decisions students make now about who they want to be will influence the communities they lead in the future,” McMahon said.
The Power of Peer Leadership
Peer leadership is one of the most effective tools for shifting campus culture. At Princeton, McMahon co-manages a team of 40 undergraduate and five graduate peer educators through the University’s SHARE office, who work with students to promote healthy relationships, consent, and bystander intervention. Peer educators complete intensive training before beginning their work and continue developing their skills through ongoing meetings and education throughout the academic year.
Peers often communicate these ideas in ways that resonate strongly with fellow students.
“As a 40-year-old man, I’m pretty far removed from the day-to-day reality of undergraduate life,” McMahon said with a laugh. “Students know how to talk to each other in ways that connect.”
Peer educators also help build a culture where students look out for one another. Bystander intervention encourages people to step in when they see behavior that could lead to harm.
“When people recognize harmful behavior and intervene, it sends a message that our community does not tolerate that behavior,” he said.
Prevention Begins Earlier
The shift toward prevention is not happening on college campuses alone. Across Mercer County, educators and community organizations are helping young people develop these skills long before they arrive at college.
Through Younity’s Prevention & Education Program, professionals work with schools, youth groups, and community partners to provide age-appropriate education about consent, healthy relationships, and bystander intervention. These conversations help young people build the language and confidence to communicate boundaries and respect the autonomy of others.
Younity regularly collaborates with educators, community leaders, and campus partners who share the goal of preventing harm before it occurs.
By introducing these concepts early, prevention educators hope to equip young people with tools they will carry with them into adulthood.
Growing Awareness Among Young People
In recent years, organizations across the country have seen an increase in teens and young adults reaching out for support. Younity has observed similar trends through its hotline services, where more teens and young adults are seeking guidance about relationships and experiences that feel confusing or concerning.
For McMahon, this shift may reflect growing awareness.
“We are seeing more people access services, while reports of harm themselves have remained relatively steady,” he said. “That suggests that stigma around seeking help may be decreasing.”
He believes younger generations are increasingly recognizing different forms of power-based violence, including harassment, stalking, and exploitation.
“People are recognizing these behaviors cause harm,” he said. “And they are learning that support is available.”
Advice for Students and Parents
When asked what advice he would give students preparing for college, McMahon returned to a central theme.
Consent.
“I want students to really think about what their expectations are around relationships and sex,” he said. “How will you ask for what you want? How will you say no? And how will you respond respectfully if someone tells you no?”
For parents, he acknowledges that conversations about relationships, boundaries, and consent can feel uncomfortable. But open communication remains important.
Parents can help by starting these conversations at home while also encouraging their students to identify trusted adults they feel comfortable speaking with. That might be a parent, but it could also be an extended family member, mentor, counselor, teacher, or another supportive adult. Families can also remind students that resources exist on college campuses and in the community if they ever need guidance or support.
“Encourage your student to have at least one trusted person they can talk to about difficult experiences,” he said.
Honoring Survivors and Community Action
One of the longest-standing traditions connected to this work is Take Back the Night, a movement that began in the 1970s and spread widely across college campuses in the 1980s.
At Princeton, the event continues to bring students and community members together to support survivors and raise awareness.
Originally, the rallies called for universities to take violence more seriously and improve campus safety measures. Over time, they have also become spaces for reflection, solidarity, and hope.
“It is an opportunity for survivors to share their experiences and for the community to stand together,” McMahon said. “It is also a reminder that we all have a role to play in creating safer communities.”
As colleges, community organizations, educators, and families continue working together, prevention remains at the center of that effort.
The Role We All Play in Prevention
The goal is simple but powerful: building a culture where respect, consent, and accountability make violence far less likely to occur in the first place.
Achieving that goal takes ongoing effort from colleges, educators, families, and community organizations working together. Through prevention programs, peer leadership, and open conversations about relationships and boundaries, communities can help ensure that the next generation is better prepared to build safer and more respectful environments for everyone.
How trauma-informed counseling and coordinated support helped one mother rebuild safely
When Sage first connected with Younity, she did not describe herself as someone experiencing abuse.
She described herself as overwhelmed — frustrated, upset, exhausted.
She had been married for nearly two decades. She was raising three children. She was navigating health challenges, financial strain, and a relationship that had slowly narrowed her world. But when asked directly whether she was being abused, she said no, not because nothing was happening, but because she did not yet have language for it.
For years, Sage had lived inside patterns that felt confusing more than criminal. Money was controlled. Employment was sabotaged. Decisions were monitored. Fear was constant but rarely explosive. The presence of firearms in the house made the tension feel physical, even when nothing was said out loud. Over time, intimidation became background noise. Control became routine.
That is how coercive control works. It is not always loud. It is not always visible. It is cumulative.
When Overwhelmed Doesn’t Yet Have a Name
Sage first connected with Younity through counseling. She began meeting with Ashley Castro, M.A., Counselor Advocate, while still in the home. The sessions were careful and exploratory, focused on identifying patterns, naming risks, and gently separating what had been normalized from what was harmful.
Recognition did not happen in one session; it built slowly. Some days the work felt overwhelming, but Sage kept returning — confronting doubts, cultural expectations, fear, and the difficult task of believing she deserved something different.
Ashley introduced tools like the Power and Control Wheel. She helped Sage understand the dynamics of financial abuse, intimidation, and manipulation. What Sage had once dismissed as “just how things are” began to take clearer shape.
Counseling became the foundation. Week after week, Sage returned to counseling to do the internal work that made every other step possible. From there, every other service aligned around safety, stability, and long-term healing.
The Moment That Changed Everything
Then one night, something shifted.
When a firearm was aimed at her — even framed as a joke — the ambiguity disappeared. The fear she had been minimizing became undeniable. For the first time, Sage understood clearly that her safety, and her children’s safety, were seriously at risk.
That moment became the line she could not cross again.
In the days that followed, she did not immediately call the police. She worried about escalation. She worried about what an arrest would mean for her children. Instead, she reached out quietly. She gathered information. She began asking questions she had never allowed herself to ask before.
Counseling shifted into active safety planning.
Within days, Sage and her children entered Younity’s Safe House.
She arrived carrying more than bags. She carried anger. She carried resentment. She carried years of feeling unheard. Her children were struggling too. School attendance had become inconsistent. Emotions ran high. The family was operating in survival mode.
And Sage was furious.
Learning the System
She wanted justice. She wanted someone to make it right. She wanted the courts to see what had been done to her and hold someone accountable.
That anger was not misplaced, but it was consuming.
When Sage transitioned into Younity’s Transitional Housing program, she began working closely with Geraldo Sierra, Program Coordinator of Transitional Housing, and Janet Ginest, Housing Navigator. They both remember those early months clearly.
“She was mad,” Janet recalls. “Mad at him. Mad at the system. Mad at everyone.”
In court, Sage focused on everything that had been done to her and expected the judge to punish her abuser. But family court does not operate on emotion. It operates on evidence.
Janet explains that one of the hardest lessons for many victim-survivors is understanding that court is not about what feels fair. Judges are bound to uphold the law. That means presenting facts clearly and separating what was deeply wrong from what can be legally proven.
At first, Sage heard that as dismissal. She felt invalidated. She felt unheard.
But unlike many systems she had encountered before, Younity did not withdraw. Staff kept meeting with her. They kept explaining. They kept coaching. They kept showing up.
Geraldo accompanied her to court proceedings. In the early hearings, she was visibly nervous — shaking, overwhelmed, bracing herself. Over time, something shifted.
“You could see her learning how to present her case differently,” he says. “That growth was powerful.”
When the judge referenced coercive control in her restraining order hearing, it mattered deeply. Not because it erased what happened, but because someone named it.
She was granted her restraining order.
It was a turning point — legally and emotionally.
When You Can Leave the House, But Not the Network
Leaving the relationship did not mean leaving the shadow.
Sage’s former partner came from a large, deeply rooted family within the community. In an area where generations stay connected, it often felt like there were only a few degrees of separation between him and anyone she might encounter. More than once, she ran into people connected to him unexpectedly.
For Sage, that reinforced a difficult truth: You can leave the house, but you do not always immediately escape the network.
That reality fed her anxiety. It made errands feel heavy and court appearances feel exposed. Rebuilding felt public.
At the same time, she faced practical barriers. Her husband had taken the family vehicle. She fought to regain it. In the meantime, she and her children walked — to the laundromat, to appointments, in the heat, carrying what they could.
Her children felt the instability. Some acted out. Some withdrew. All of them were carrying stress.
Transitional Housing gave Sage something critical: space.
Space to think. Space to plan. Space not to panic about immediate rent or utility shut-offs.
Walking Before Driving
Through Younity’s Counseling & Support Services and coordinated community partnerships, Sage was connected to additional supports. After advocating for herself and completing the required documentation, she secured a donated vehicle through a local program. When repairs were needed later, Younity’s Housing Navigator program helped her access funding to make those repairs.
Transportation was not just convenience. It was autonomy.
With stability came employment. What began as a part-time position eventually became full-time. Her supervisor advocated for a raise because of her reliability and work ethic. She began receiving benefits. She started contributing to a 401(k). She began building something that was hers.
Geraldo remembers her walking into meetings still in her work uniform after long shifts.
“Exhausted,” he says, “but proud.”
He describes her tenacity as difficult to overstate. “It’s not just about meeting program expectations. She made it about her own growth.”
From Reaction to Intention
As her income stabilized, her goals became more realistic and more intentional.
When she first entered Transitional Housing, urgency shaped everything. She imagined immediate child support. A high-paying job. Housing beyond her current means. It was not delusion; it was desperation mixed with hope.
Janet worked with her month after month, walking through numbers. What does rent actually cost in Mercer County? What income is required? What happens if a car breaks down?
Through structured financial planning, Sage tracked savings and debt reduction. She learned how credit works — not just how to raise a score, but how utilization, payment timing, and consistency compound over time.
Her credit score climbed, and Geraldo jokes that it may now rival the staff’s.
But beneath the humor is something deeper. For someone who had lived under financial control for years, understanding money was liberation.
She completed a first-time homebuyer course. She worked with community partners to understand down payment assistance and housing options. She was accepted into an affordable housing program that provides a two-year runway to strengthen her financial position before purchasing a home.
That bridge matters, because without it many families fall into the gap between crisis services and market-rate housing.
“I will buy my own home,” she says.
Over time, Sage began describing her growth as a kind of rebirth. Green has become her new favorite color, a quiet reminder of growth, of new life, of beginning again.
“That’s me,” she says. “Rebirth.”
Ashley smiles when she hears that, because “rebirth” is the same word she uses to describe Sage’s transformation.
Safety Is Non-Negotiable
Her children were watching all of it.
Through Younity, they accessed trauma-informed counseling support. They learned language for what they had experienced. They worked through behavioral challenges. They began to stabilize.
Sage learned to advocate differently — in schools, in court, in life. What began as anger has become clarity. What began as reaction has become planning.
She no longer spends her energy trying to force accountability from someone unwilling to give it. She spends her energy building.
She is working full-time, continuing her professional training, and advancing in her career. Saving. Planning. Stabilizing. Raising children who now understand something deeply important: safety is non-negotiable.
When asked what she is most proud of, she does not mention her credit score or her job.
“Getting out safely,” she says. “Some people don’t make it out.”
If someone reading her story is unsure whether reaching out is worth it, she is direct.
“Don’t give up. If you really want to make a better life for yourself and for your children, you will fight and do better. You have to want it. Especially for your children.”
She does not pretend it was easy. It wasn’t.
But step by step — through Younity’s trauma-informed counseling, safety planning, Safe House services, court advocacy and accompaniment, children’s trauma-focused support, Transitional Housing, financial coaching, and coordinated community partnerships — she rebuilt something steady.
No single service changed everything. It was the continuity: the counselor who helped her name what was happening, the advocate who stood beside her in court, the housing team who walked her through numbers month after month, and the partners who helped with transportation and long-term planning.
Different roles. One coordinated response.
One woman rebuilt her life. She did the work. And she did not do it alone.
Today, Sage describes her future with clarity. Within two years, she plans to be settled in a home she has purchased herself — a home built not on fear, but on new beginnings.
If you are reading this and wondering whether what you are experiencing “counts,” or whether reaching out would even matter, Sage’s story offers something simple:
You do not need to have all the language. You do not need a perfect plan. You just need to take the first step.
Younity’s confidential hotline is available 24 hours a day. Together, we are stronger than abuse.
Help make our 30th Annual Awards Dinner both meaningful and memorable by contributing an item or experience to our raffle or silent auction.
Your in-kind donation supports Younity’s life-changing and life-saving work with survivors of domestic and sexual violence — while adding excitement and engagement to an evening that brings our community together.
Deadline to donate items: May 7, 2026.
Why It Matters
Each year, more than 11,000 individuals turn to Younity for safety, healing, and hope. Through emergency shelter, crisis intervention, legal advocacy, counseling, and prevention education, we provide critical support to families in crisis situations.
Proceeds from our raffle and silent auction directly strengthen these programs.
What We’re Looking For
We gratefully accept donations at all price points, including:
Restaurant and retail gift cards
Spa and wellness packages
Travel or weekend getaways
Sports or event tickets
Professional services
Themed gift baskets
Unique, local experiences
Recognition for Donors
Raffle and auction donors receive recognition:
In the event Ad Journal
On event signage
In raffle and auction materials
Through email and social media outreach
The Annual Awards Dinner welcomes approximately 300 attendees, with extended visibility to more than 5,000 supporters across New Jersey.
Ready to Donate?
To confirm your donation or discuss ideas, please contact:
Honoring a Legacy of Leadership, Courage, and Compassion
Each year, Younity is proud to recognize individuals, volunteers, and partners whose extraordinary commitment has directly supported our mission: empowering victim-survivors, preventing violence, and building stronger, safer communities.
From elected leaders and grassroots advocates to tireless volunteers and visionary partners, our honorees reflect the very best of what it means to stand with those impacted by domestic and sexual violence.
Their work has profound, lasting effects on the lives of our clients and strengthens Younity’s ability to provide critical services. Their voices inspire us, and their actions continue to shape the path forward.
Barbara Boggs Sigmund Award Recipients
Presented annually to a leader who has championed justice, equality, and the empowerment of those most vulnerable to abuse.
Previous Barbara Boggs Sigmund Award Recipients:
1995: Cokie Roberts, award-winning correspondent for ABC & NPR, and best-selling author
1996: Ann Richards, Governor of Texas, and Mary Alice Williams, television anchor and executive
1997: Diane Sawyer, award-winning television journalist and anchor
1998: Pat Ciarrocchi, television anchor and journalist
1999: Anna Quindlen, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author
2000: Star Jones, attorney, journalist, and host of The View
2001: Ann, Pat, and Sandy, domestic violence survivors who appear in the video, Bridges to Safety
2002: The Honorable Lindy Boggs, former ambassador and congresswoman from Louisiana
2003: Linda Fairstein, Chief, Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan DA’s office, and best-selling author
2004: Emily Mann, Emmy Award-winning playwright and artistic director of McCarter Theatre
2005: Kent Manahan, Emmy Award-winning reporter, producer, and host for NJ NETWORK
2006: Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio’s award-winning legal correspondent
2007: Nell Merlino, creative force of Take Our Daughters to Work Day & CEO of Count Me In
2008: Dr. Jean Kilbourne, acclaimed author, lecturer, and filmmaker
2009: Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC Chief Medical Editor and bestselling author
2010: C. Vivian Stringer, Rutgers Head Coach of Women’s Basketball, and 2009 Basketball Hall of Famer
2011: Faith Ringgold, world-renowned artist and author
2012: Dr. Stacey Patton, author, journalist, and advocate for abused and neglected children
2013: Lee Woodruff, best-selling author, journalist, and advocate for injured veterans
2014: Joe Torre, Baseball Hall of Famer, and founder of Safe at Home Foundation
2015: Minh Dang, Human Rights Activist and Scholar
2016: Tamron Hall, Co-Host of NBC’S TODAY and anchor of MSNBC’S NewsNation
2022: Elizabeth Smart, Child Abduction Prevention Advocate (held virtually via Zoom)
2023: Troy Vincent Sr., Former Philadelphia Eagles Cornerback, EVP Football Operations at NFL
2024: Bonnie Watson Coleman, U.S. Representative for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District
2025: Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action
Edwin W. Schmierer Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service
Presented to a dedicated volunteer whose generosity, leadership, and service have made a direct and lasting difference in the lives of Younity’s clients, helping us provide critical support to those in crisis.
2023: Edwin W. Schmierer, Volunteer of 36 years and Namesake of Younity’s Volunteer Award
2024: Anne Mavis, Advocate for Crisis Response Teams of Mercer County
2025: Kieran John, Organizer & Volunteer for Younity’s Communities of Light
Community Partner Award
Presented to a valued organization or business whose partnership with Younity has strengthened our programs, expanded our reach, and made a tangible impact on the individuals and families we serve.
2024: Isles, Inc.
2025: Princeton Area Community Foundation
A Family Legacy of Impact: A Mother and Her Daughters In photo: Barbara Boggs Sigmund (right), and past honorees journalist Cokie Roberts (Barbara’s sister) and former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Lindy Boggs (Barbara’s mother).
Honor an honoree. Celebrate a legacy. Support our mission.
The 30th Annual Awards Dinner program—shared both in print at the event and digitally with our community—is a meaningful place to recognize the individuals who inspire us and to stand with victim-survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
By purchasing an ad or placing a tribute, you are:
Celebrating this year’s honorees and their impact
Marking a milestone year in Younity’s history
Helping ensure our services remain available for those who need them most
Tribute messages
Tribute messages are a heartfelt way to recognize an honoree, remember a loved one, or share a message of gratitude and support.
Tributes will appear in both the printed event program and the digital program.
Tribute options:
Full-page tribute: $500 | size: 5″ x 8″ (vertical)
Half-page tribute: $300 | size: 5″ x 3.75″ (horizontal)
Quarter-page tribute: $150 | size: 2.35″ x 3.75″ (vertical)
Tributes may include text, photos, or a combination of both.
Program advertising
Program ads are ideal for businesses, organizations, and community partners who want to show their support while reaching a broad and engaged audience.
Ads will appear in both the printed event program and the digital program.
Ad sizes and rates:
Full-page tribute: $500 | size: 5″ x 8″ (vertical)
Half-page tribute: $300 | size: 5″ x 3.75″ (horizontal)
Quarter-page tribute: $150 | size: 2.35″ x 3.75″ (vertical)
Artwork & submission details
High-resolution files required for print (300 dpi)
Sponsorship that reflects leadership in the community you live and work in
Sponsoring Younity’s Annual Awards Dinner reflects a commitment to the wellbeing of the community you live and work in — and to the kind of leadership that strengthens it.
For 30 years, the Annual Awards Dinner has brought together leaders from business, healthcare, law, philanthropy, and civic life who share a belief that community safety, dignity, and care are collective responsibilities. Sponsors are recognized not simply as supporters of an event, but as partners in sustaining a stronger, more responsive Mercer County.
Sponsorship places your organization — or your family — alongside respected local and national leaders who value integrity, accountability, and service. It signals an understanding of how domestic and sexual violence affect workplaces, families, health systems, and the broader social fabric — and a commitment to solutions that endure.
Explore sponsorship opportunities below.
Sponsorship Opportunities:
Questions or custom sponsorships
Interested in a tailored option, an in-kind partnership, or a sponsorship that aligns with your organization’s goals? We’d love to talk.
This past Saturday, Younity proudly celebrated the graduation of our newest class of Response Teams Advocates—community members who completed 64 hours of intensive, trauma-informed training to provide critical support to victim-survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Becoming a Response Teams Advocate is no small commitment. These volunteers are trained to respond in the immediate aftermath of a crisis—meeting with victim-survivors at police departments following incidents of domestic violence, or at hospitals following sexual assault. In those vulnerable, disorienting moments, Response Teams Advocates are often the first source of compassionate, judgment-free support.
They sit beside victim-survivors in some of the most difficult moments of their lives, listen without agenda, and offer clear, empowering information about options and resources. They provide a sense of safety and dignity when it is needed most. Each conversation may be brief, but its impact can last a lifetime.
Their role requires not only knowledge, but emotional strength, empathy, and a deep sense of responsibility. Response Teams Advocates answer calls at all hours—often in the middle of the night—because they know that a calm, caring presence can change the course of someone’s healing journey.
Eva Phillips, a survivor and fierce advocate for justice, served as guest speaker at the graduation. Her presence was a powerful reminder of the importance of this work—and the strength that emerges when survivors are met with care and belief.
“Our advocates are the bridge between crisis and hope,” said Varonda Kendrick, Younity’s Response Teams Coordinator. “Their willingness to show up—day or night—brings dignity, compassion, and calm to moments that could otherwise feel isolating or overwhelming.”
We are incredibly proud to welcome this new group of advocates into the Younity community. Their courage, dedication, and quiet strength help ensure that no one has to face abuse or assault alone.
Interested in future training opportunities? Future training opportunities are planned. Reach out to responseteamstraining@younitynj.org for questions or more information.
Together, we applaud these advocates and all those who support them—because their work makes our entire community stronger.
From left to right: Varonda Kendrick, Younity Response Teams Coordinator; Felicia, Younity Community Outreach Coordinator & Staff on Call Response Teams Advocate; Eva Phillips; Janet Morales, Younity Crisis Sexual Assault Response Specialist; Susan Victor, Younity Chief Operating Officer, Client & Community Services
