PEACE ON EARTH BEGINS AT HOME

Family Crisis Services is a joint domestic violence and sexual assault program which provides direct support and advocacy services to victims and their families in Tazewell and Russell counties.  In addition to direct victim services, FCS offers an Education and Community Outreach Program, a Batterer Intervention Program, a Volunteer Advocate Program, a Transitional Housing Program, and a Homeless Intervention Program.

Imagine having a mother and three children living in an abusive home—being beaten, feeling hopeless with nowhere to turn. This is a typical example of many households in our area. Statistics gathered showed 158 women, children and men found help through CVCA. These services included 310 hotline calls, 450 units of crisis intervention, 2,418 miles of transportation, 600 units of personal advocacy and 449 units of individual counseling. Additionally, 35 families were housed in the emergency shelter for a total of 2,122 nights.

The Education and Community Outreach Program also provides educational programming and technical assistance to the community.  Education programs include the following:

• Safe Touch-Unsafe Touch for K-5.

• Teen Dating Violence Prevention for 8^th and 10^th grade students.

• Sexual Harassment awareness and prevention for middle school and 9^th grade students.

• Rape Aggressive Defense classes for children ages 5-10 and adult females.

• "These Hands Are Not For Hitting" in elementary schools.

We also have a Volunteer Advocate Program, which trains individuals to provide volunteer services such as Hotline, Emergency Transportation, Court Advocacy, Office Support and Educational Programming.  Volunteers must complete 40 hours of classroom training to be able to help with victim assistance.  Other volunteers help to fund raise, refurbish the shelter, do the puppet shows, and serve on the advisory board to name a few of the many ways to help. 

The Batterer Intervention Program is a 6 month court ordered alternative to incarceration for domestic violence offenders.  Participants receive 36 hours of education regarding domestic violence and its effects on the family as well as other dynamics.  Fees are assessed for participants enrolled in the program to cover administrative costs.

An abusive perpetrator may find himself or herself participating in CVCA’s Batterer’s Intervention Program. A total of 66 individuals participated in the program. One example: John is a disabled male in his 50s and has been married for over thirty years. His abusive incident occurred after an altercation with a family member and a stranger. He initially claimed that he had not been abusive in their marriage, but after 22 weeks of class, he disclosed that he was emotionally abusive to his partner. While it is difficult to ascertain if a participant has truly made a change in behavior, John appears to have benefited from the program. He takes a leadership role in group, and the other participants seem to regard his opinion and advice.

CVCA provides a Transitional Housing Program.  Currently there are four apartments for homeless families to help make a transition from crisis to stability and eventually self sufficiency.  Clients may stay in these apartments up to one year but must have developed a plan that includes job goals, budgeting, family development and other areas of planning.  Statistics show that 11 families or 31 individuals have been allowed to reside in the apartments reflecting 3,709 night of housing.

The Homeless Intervention Program (HIP) provides rental/mortgage assistance to families who have had or are experiencing a crisis in their lives beyond their control.  During the assistance period, families are counseled on becoming self sufficient and aided in developing a plan to meet the goals.

For more information on any of these services, please contact Family Crisis Services at 540-988-5583 or 1-800-390-9484 or click here.

Peace on Earth begins at Home.

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