Alternatives to Domestic Violence

Listen to Patricia's story, she is a perfect example of the 1000's of lives that have been impacted through the services that ADV has been providing since 1978.

Her story isn't uncommon; many that come to us share similar stories. What is unique is based upon them as individuals, their particular family dynamics, circumstances and goals for the future. Patricia was so grateful for her changed life that she wanted to come back as a volunteer to help others who are in similar situations. What Patricia doesn't say is that she was a therapist in her country before coming here.  Unfortunately she isn't qualified to be a therapist but she is qualified to actively engage with clients by educating them on their rights and legal responsibilities. She is qualified to listen and be compassionate, lead and guide clients toward a better future and most important she is qualified to be a strong role model for those with whom she works.

We are grateful that Patricia's life was changed and that she chose to give back here at ADV. We believe that her story and that of many others is the greatest testament to what we do and why we do it. We sincerely hope you take the opportunity to go to our website to listen and read some of the other stories.  One of our favorites came from a client’s son who wrote an essay as a class assignment entitled “Watch”.  Every person in every group, victims and perpetrators alike are given this young man's compelling story about the effects of violence on children. He also makes our case for why we need your financial help today.  He gave us permission to use his story so that someone will hear the cries of countless children and do something about it.

We want people to know that domestic abuse is no longer a women’s and children’s issue, it’s a family, friend, school and societal issue.  It now affects everyone at some level, the statistics are staggering, here's just two:

• Estimates say that between 3 and 10 million children witness intimate partner violence between their caregivers.  They are more likely to be victims of child maltreatment, increased aggressive behaviors and attitudes, poor mediation skills and other issues.
• Many children who experience family abuse suffer from the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder much the same as those in the military returning from combat.

 

There has not been enough money spent on addressing the issue at the local level; government as well as private assistance has decreased dramatically over the past 5-7 years while the domestic abuse statistics continue to climb.

It is important that everyone becomes involved in addressing the causes.  Domestic abuse needs voices to bring it back to the forefront of people’s minds in order to bring about positive lasting changes for individuals and society as a whole.  Prevention is key; even at early intervention lives have already been negatively impacted.

Our greatest needs at ADV are:

Exposure:  To bring the issue of family violence back out from behind closed doors and once again onto the public scene where it can be looked at openly and honestly in order to effectively deal with the issue and its effects. 

Money:  Nothing is done entirely for free very well for very long.  Family violence is a world-wide problem that needs financing over the long haul. Today, if we look at the statistics, the problem isn’t being addressed with any great impact; most domestic violence and emergency shelter-based agency’s are barely hanging on.  It just isn’t enough.  It takes money to garner legislative support at the local, state and federal levels.  It takes money for marketing, fundraising, technology and research, to gather data with quantitative and qualitative evaluations, to look at best practices, new program implementation, support personnel and the list goes on.

Our desire at ADV is to ultimately come out from the shadows of being a great local agency with influence at the state level because we truly believe that we can have a greater impact on the issues of family abuse on the national and international front.