Healthy
Hearts
?Healthy
by Brenda Yoder, MA,
Counselor and Education & Prevention Advocate for Elijah Haven Crisis Intervention Center
O
ctober was Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As
an advocate for domestic
violence victims, I’m often
surprised when people say, “I never
knew it happened in LaGrange County.” Those working in law enforcement,
hospitals, and human service agencies
know it’s present in LaGrange County
just like throughout the world.
Domestic violence knows no
boundaries. It isn’t defined by socioeconomic class, religion, culture, ethnicity or gender. It doesn’t hide itself
from children. Yet it’s silent. A silent
storm in many homes, causing damage
of hurricane proportions for generations to come.
As a community, we need to stop
the silence.
Classified Ad Form
Elijah Haven Crisis Intervention Center is the LaGrange County
agency providing specific services to
women, children, and families affected by domestic violence. During the
agency’s fiscal year from July 2011 to
June 2012, there was a 30% increase
in clients served from the year before.
The LaGrange County Sheriff’s office
also report a 30% increase in domestic violence incidences. More people
are reporting domestic violence and
seeking help. The silence is starting to
be broken.
As a community, when we’re
aware of things around us, it makes it
harder to ignore what’s happening. As
a counselor working with both children of domestic violence and school
children, I see students in a classroom
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differently knowing some of them go
home to violence, abuse, or chaos. As
a parent, knowing that young women
16-24 years of age are the largest group
of women experiencing relationship
violence today makes me look at dating partners of my children and their
friends more closely. Statistics become
personal when we’re aware that relationship violence happens around us.
Elijah Haven Crisis Intervention
Center has presented educational programs on relationship violence in every
LaGrange County High School during
the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school
years. This monthly column reaches
over 8,000 homes in the LaGrange
County area. In the past year, our
emergency shelter provided safe, emergency housing and care for 24 women
for 411 concurrent days. Together,
we are working towards educating,
preventing, and assisting individuals
affected by domestic violence.
This age-old, gaping wound on the
human experience needs to be eliminated. Young men need to be taught
violence, manipulation and control
over women is not acceptable, and vice
versa. Young women need to be taught
they are not to be treated disrespectfully or that they “deserve” abuse from
someone who says “I love you” and vice
versa. As a thriving, safe community,
we need to confidently share that each
of us are highly honored and valued
in God’s eyes. Every person deserves
dignity and respect. We need to be able
to say to someone who is abusing or
being abused, “That’s not okay.”
I wonder who needs to hear those
words from you today. Once you know,
be sure to speak up. It may save a life.
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The Hometown Treasure · November ‘12 · pg 29