Wichita Law Enforcement Trainers Honored with Statewide Award

Wichita Law Enforcement Trainers Honored with Statewide Award

Coalition awards Project of the Year Award

For Immediate Release:  Thursday, February 18, 2016

KCSDV Media Contact:  joyceg@kcsdv.org; o: 785-232-9784, c: 785-231-8933

Topeka, KS, 2/18/2016 – A Wichita couple have received a Project of the Year Award from the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence (KCSDV).  Dung and Paul Kimble were presented the award during KCSDV’s 13^th Annual Safe Homes, Safe Streets event at the Sunflower Safety Luncheon and Awards Ceremony last week in Topeka.

Since 1995, KCSDV has been recognizing outstanding advocates and allies who are working to enhance victim safety, increase perpetrator accountability, and prevent and eliminate sexual and domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in Kansas.

StepStone, a domestic violence program serving Wichita, nominated the Kimbles for the award.  Dung is the Program Director at StepStone, and Paul is a Sergeant for the Wichita Police Department.  When the call went out for multi-disciplinary training teams to train law enforcement under the state-level GTEAP project, the Kimbles stepped up to the plate and put their passion and commitment to end domestic violence to work by training collaboratively.  To date, the Kimbles have trained over 100 Kansas law enforcement officers on domestic violence response and investigation, and they have also worked together to bring national law enforcement trainers to Kansas.  “Dung and Paul are wonderful examples of collaborative work between law enforcement and victim advocacy,” said Kit Lambertz, StepStone executive director.  “The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion, both of which is exemplified in the work that Dung and Paul do to help survivors of domestic violence,” said Lambertz.  The Kimbles created the “Here I am Lord” fund, allowing law enforcement officers to access donated funds to assist survivors with hotel rooms when needed.

“The Kimbles’ passion for ending domestic violence and addressing the training needs of law enforcement and advocates has directly improved the services and responses for survivors in Kansas,” said Joyce Grover, KCSDV executive director. “KCSDV is honored to award both Dung and Paul for their work to end domestic violence,” said Grover.

Other award winners at this year’s event included Sadie Madden from LARC, the sexual and domestic violence advocacy program located in Liberal, for the Juliene Maska Outstanding Advocate of the Year Award; Twila Wollenberg, MDCV Elementary School Principal, and Officers Lori Kimrey and Darrin Williams of the Wichita Police Department West Patrol Station, for the Community Ally of the Year Awards; and the Safehouse Crisis Center of Southeast Kansas and Pittsburg State University’s Students for Violence Prevention for a Project of the Year Award.

Photos available upon request.