City leaders mark Denim Day, urge steady funding for survivor services

Council members and community advocates on Tuesday used the council dais to mark Denim Day and press the city to maintain support for survivor services.

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez led the presentation and invited Patty Giggens, founder of Peace Over Violence, to describe the nonprofit’s work. Giggens told the council the organization’s programs — including prevention education, hotline services and clinical training — are strained by rising demand and recent staffing cuts. “Last year, POV alone, we served 20,000 people,” Giggens said, noting the group has had to reduce staff while need rose.

Wendy Blanco, introduced as Peace Over Violence’s director of clinical services, outlined the organization’s two-tier model of prevention and intervention, and urged continued VOCA and city funding for clinical interns and hotline staffing. “Prevention and intervention must be matched by funding,” Blanco said, adding that survivors often remain “suffering in silence” and that training for bystander intervention and clinical response is essential.

Several council members used their remarks to link the local observance to broader accountability and resource needs. Councilmember Bob Yaroslavsky said Denim Day is “a call to meet that standard” and specifically pointed to the need for adequate civilian staff to process evidence kits at LAPD, an item he said will be discussed later at LAPD’s budget hearing.

The presentation included descriptions of Denim Day’s origins — a protest response to an Italian court ruling — and an exhortation that cultural gestures be matched with policy and funding. The council gave Patty Giggens a round of applause and recognized Peace Over Violence’s long-running role in the city’s survivor services.