DART (Domestic Abuse Resistance Team)

Imagine being required to stay at home when that home is also the location of your abuser. Domestic violence escalates during a stay - at - home order. During this world-wide crisis, D.A.R.T. continued to provide help by adding safety precautions to all of our services. Your gifts made it possible for D.A.R.T. to provide those services and shelter for the people in our community who are living in fear.
As this crisis diminishes, the domestic violence crisis has no diminishedt. We still need the help of donors to maintain our services. D.A.R.T. exists through limited funding by grants and community donations. Our grants are not guaranteed, and without community support our program could not continue. During this time, your donation is so important to us.
D.A.R.T. provides a variety of vital services to the victims of domestic violence and their children, including maintaining a 24/7 Crisis line (318-251-2255) for those who are confronted with domestic or dating violence in the seven parishes D.A.R.T. serves. We maintain a secure shelter where victims and their children can be safe from violence and abuse and can work on options for moving forward safely in their lives. D.A.R.T.'s advocates offer free and confidential counseling for adult individuals and hold weekly group meetings where survivors can openly discuss their situations with the support of those who understand what they are going through.
The children's program serves any child who has witnessed or experienced violence in the home. Individual and group events are designed to encourage safety and self-esteem, teach coping skills and help them manage the variety of emotions they might have as a result of the trauma they have experienced.
D.A.R.T.'s legal advocate provides clerical assistance with filing restraining orders and assists with pressing charges. She helps victims to understand the legal process, and provides support during court appearances. The legal advocate also makes referrals to legal services and accompanies victims to appointments with law enforcement personnel, if requested, and collaborates with both law enforcement and court systems to assist victims. She also organizes training events and seminars for law enforcement, counselors and others who deal with domestic violence victims in their work.
The community advocates at D.A.R.T. work to fulfill D.A.R.T.'s mission to educate the community and bring public awareness to the issue of domestic and dating violence. Through talks to student and adult groups, newspaper articles, social media, radio and television, advocates share information with the community about domestic abuse.
In addition, D.A.R.T. holds awareness events in the community throughout the year. An annual candlelight vigil remembers the names of those who have been murdered by loved ones in our community since D.A.R.T.'s founding in 1993. Each October, life-size red figures go up in each parish representing those lost to domestic violence. "Men Standing Strong", a group of several hundred men in the community, give their support yearly to D.A.R.T. and sign pledges that they are opposed to domestic violence. For over twenty years, D.A.R.T. has sponsored "Beating Hearts: Stories of Domestic Violence", an exhibit of art and writing about domestic violence that has been shown throughout the United States (beatinghearts.net).