SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Team Up with Family Crisis Center

Published on September 17, 2003 under SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss.— Tickets for the Memphis RiverKings' home opener on Oct. 18 will be available for sale at North Mississippi Sexual Assault Resource Center's "Family Day" event on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the DeSoto Medical Complex next to the Southaven municipal building on Northwest Drive. For more information call 662-280-9111.

The tickets, regularly $13, will be sold for $10, with $4 from each ticket sale going back to the North Mississippi Sexual Assault Resource Center.

"Family Day" will include games, face painting, cake walks, a "Dunk a Cop" booth, child finger printing services by the DeSoto County Sheriff's Department, drawings for two family packages to the Mid-South fair, and a bake sale. The RiverKings will also donate three pair of tickets for a free prize drawing during the event. The Sheriff's helicopter, an ambulance and fire trucks will be there for showing. Food and drinks will be available.

The event will also include a "Jailed For Justice" booth. Detainees were notified of their upcoming imprisonment and given several weeks to raise "bail" of $1,500 each. The parties guilty of doing good will report to "jail" between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to be processed in and served a proper "jail house" lunch.

North Mississippi Sexual Assault Resource Center (NMSARC) will be one of the RiverKings' featured non-profit organizations at a game this year. NMSARC, a family crisis center, was originally started as a resource for victims of rape; however, founders realized after examining social needs in the county, their services needed to be specialized and expanded.

NMSARC's Harmony House is place where children and parents can have supervised visits.

"In the case of suspected abuse of a child, parents and children still have the right to see each other," NMSARC director Debbie Houck said. "This allows them to have visitation, in a safe, monitored environment, which protects both the child and the parent."

Another branch of NMSARC is the Teddy Bears Child Advocacy Center, which deals with forensic interviewing for children. The center also will be home to Angels Domestic Outreach Services, which will provide living quarters for women or men who have been abused.

"After they leave a situation in which they've been abused, they need three to six months to get back on their feet," Houck said. "Angels Domestic Outreach Services will supply that."

The RiverKings will also work with NMSARC on their new program, "Gifts From The Heart." This program will provide Christmas gifts to disadvantaged children ages 12 and under in DeSoto County, who will be eligible according to income level. The RiverKings will put up a "Gifts From The Heart" Christmas tree on the concourse during games in late November and early December so fans can choose a child to whom they would like to provide a Christmas gift.

"This is just another way we're trying to get our fans involved with the non-profit organizations we work with, plus we're helping out the needy of DeSoto County at the same time," said Michael Rice, RiverKings Community Relations Director.

The center's main ministry is still to provide help to victims of rape. Houck said that in 96 percent of rapes, the victim knows the attacker. She also said the victim also is not well-informed about their role in the court system.

"As the victim, you often don't know your rights," Houck said. "I just want to make sure the victims in DeSoto County know their rights and know where to go from there. This is a service that DeSoto County needs. Generally, you only get that legal information by paying a heavy price for it. Through our centers, you don't have to do that."

· Who: The Memphis RiverKings and North Mississippi Sexual Assault Resource Center

· What: "Family Day"

· When: Saturday, Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

· Where: DeSoto Medical Complex, next to the Southaven municipal building on Northwest Drive.

· How to get more information: Call 662-280-9111.

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