(Green Bay, Wis.) – The Sexual Assault Center of Family Services is partnering with four county courthouses and numerous local businesses to “Paint the Town Teal” all April long, in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Teal is the color of Sexual Assault Awareness.

Starting April 1, 2022, the courthouses in Brown, Door, Oconto, and Marinette Counties will each display a 3-foot tall, teal wooden ribbon on the courthouse grounds. The ribbons will serve as a reminder of the free and confidential support that the Sexual Assault Center of Family Services provides in each of the four counties.

A number of local businesses will also display teal chalk ribbons in their windows and shop fronts, including Luna Café in Bellevue and De Pere, El Bistro Taco in Ashwaubenon, and The Shoppe on Main in Oconto. The Jim Kress Marinette Museum in Sturgeon Bay will also be lit up teal the evening of April 1, 2022. Several coffee shops and other businesses will help to raise awareness with teal coffee sleeves and teal specialty drinks.

Sexual Assault Center advocates say these partnerships are critical to showing survivors that the community cares and help is available.

“The initiative is for people in positions of power to use platforms to create safe spaces,” said Chelsey Steffens, victim advocate with the Sexual Assault Center. “When we have a community willing to use their circle of influence to support a cause that we know affects a large amount of the general public, we discourage violence and uplift hope.”

Last year, the Sexual Assault Center of Family Services served 1,189 survivors in Brown, Door, Oconto and Marinette Counties. Nearly half were children under the age of 18. Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bilingual staff are also available to provide culturally specific services to survivors in the Hispanic and Southeast Asian communities. You can find the hotline number for each county served by the Sexual Assault Center at www.familyservicesnew.org/sexual-assault-center.

“Many survivors do not tell anyone about the abuse, and 75% of incidents go unreported to law enforcement,” said Holli Fisher, Sexual Assault Center Program Manager. “It’s essential that survivors know they can receive confidential, non-judgmental support from trained advocates to develop a plan for safety, empowering them as they heal from their trauma.”

For more information about the “Paint the Town Teal” effort or to join as a partner, contact Chelsey Steffens at [email protected].