LAKE COUNTY >> October marks the national month of awareness for domestic violence, but Lake Family Resource Center, which provides the community with the only domestic violence shelter in the county, has been hard at work all year. The numbers of victims the center serves has been on the rise and its statistics provide an intense snapshot of the violence households throughout the county experience every day.
In 2013, the center responded to 443 domestic violence calls on its community crisis line and provided nonresidential, or community based, services to 123 individuals, including making 73 court accompaniments and aiding in filing 59 temporary restraining orders.
Additionally, over the past five years, the average occupancy at the shelter has risen from serving 12 victims per night to 25 and last year provided shelter for 64 women, 2 men and 88 children.
The fully confidential services offered by the center include a 24/7 crisis line, on-call emergency transportation for victims, the shelter, group and individualized counseling, therapeutic counseling, employment counseling and a drop-in center, where victims can stop in to get advice on their options. When victims leave the shelter, the center also provides start-up services to help victims create new homes for their families.
Gloria Flaherty, executive director of the Lake Family Resource Center, said the increase in victims served is due to a couple of factors, but doesn”t necessarily indicate that domestic violence in the county is on the rise. Instead, she believes more people are learning of the center”s services and gaining confidence in the help it can provide confidentially.
Additionally, unlike many domestic violence shelters, the location of Lake Family Resource Center”s shelter is common knowledge, although the information on the victims housed within it remains confidential.
“We found that the people that mattered didn”t know where the shelter was and the people who we didn”t want to know, did know,” Flaherty said. “Actually, the safety of the shelter has been enhanced by being out in front of the community. If they see something that looks suspicious they”ll call us, and by God they do.”
Flaherty explains that because the shelter”s location is available to the public, domestic violence isn”t a secret in Lake County and enhances the conversations about the issue in communities.
As long as victims are moving forward in their plans to recovery, which may mean getting a job, going to school or participating in the center”s programs, they”re allowed to stay in the shelter. The average length of stay for victims is around three months, Flaherty said.
The center also works in conjunction with multiple organizations throughout Lake County to aid domestic violence victims. Victim Witnesses, part of the District Attorney”s Office, works closely with the center to provide legal help for victims, while North Coast Opportunities provides food services and Healthy Start provides assistance with other supplies to help families transition into a safer home environment.
The center is also working on a few programs and campaigns.
Currently, the center is continuing a pilot program, which seeks to partner healthcare providers and domestic violence service providers. The center is one of 16 organizations in California to be funded by a Blue Shield Foundation grant with the intent of developing such partnerships to enhance both types of services for domestic violence victims.
“Through this program, healthcare providers can educate us on health issues that we need to be aware of in the shelter and we”re able to educate healthcare providers about how to do a screening assessment so people feel safe in disclosing information,” Flaherty said.
This year, the center received its first round of funding and, through its partnership with Lake County Tribal Health and the Konocti Wellness Center at Lower Lake High School, has worked on developing a cross-training program. In 2015, the center will receive its final round of funding and hopes to implement a county-wide, one-system process for screening and safety planning.
Lake Family Resource Center is also gearing up for a social media campaign titled “Because We Have Daughters,” which is scheduled to launch in January. Although nationwide more than 85 percent of domestic violence victims are women, the philosophy of the campaign is that preventing domestic violence can be more effective when men are engaged.
Through education and outreach, the campaign seeks to give voice to men who are willing to speak out against domestic violence with the belief that it has no place in their family or any family in their community.
The campaign is funded through the Verizon Foundation and billboards featuring the familiar faces of Lake County will also be posted throughout the area.
Flaherty notes that the center is always in need of volunteers and after completing a 40-hour training, volunteers can do almost all the tasks paid staff do, including teaching classes, taking shifts at the shelter, covering the crisis line and providing childcare.
The Lake Family Resource Center can be reached at 279-0563, its crisis line at 888-485-7733 and its shelter is located at 5350 Main St. in Kelseyville. Information on other services offered by the center can be viewed at its website at www.lakefrc.org.
“I really do believe that across the county we”re building a culture where domestic violence is not viewed as private, family matter and that”s a really healthy thing for our communities,” Flaherty said. “Domestic violence is not a secret in Lake County.”
