Everyone Needs a Support System

Everyone needs a support system,
whether it's family or friends.

I recently had surgery to have my gall bladder removed. This was my first experience having any type of surgery and being in a hospital other than when I had my daughter years ago. It was very different being on the patient side, receiving all of the concern and support from family and friends. 

While I was in the hospital, I was never alone. I had my husband and daughter right there checking on me, making sure I didn’t lift anything or do too much. My parents arrived soon after I got home from the hospital and they never left my side. 

All of them were always available to help with whatever needed to be done. I didn’t have to worry about anything other than myself, and resting. 

This experience really made me realize how fortunate I am that I have such a loving and available support system. I am very aware that not everyone has such a support system, and they have to go through many challenges alone, without anyone to share their feelings, triumphs and trials.

I have thought about our clients and how so many of them handle experiences so much more severe than mine without that loving support system. How do they do it? How do they cope with such challenges without anyone helping them through the process?

I have always thought that our clients are the strongest people I have ever met, and my recent experience has affirmed that for me. 

For some people, Hope House may be the only support system that they have.  They look to us for the support and encouragement that others receive from family members and friends. I am so glad that we are there for those who do not have anyone else. 

I cannot imagine going through life without the love and support of my family.  Thankfully, I have that, and knowing that gives me the drive to continue this work so that Hope House is there when needed. No one should have to face life’s challenges alone.

Children's Mercy Hospital Research Study

Children’s Mercy Hospital is conducting a research study to understand what motivates mothers to seek help for domestic violence and what resources they want and use for this problem. This study will help Children’s Mercy Hospital provide better services for patients and their mothers. They would like to have 300 participants. If you are interested in participating in the study please click on the link below. 

Children’s Mercy Hospital

is conducting a research study to help us learn more about mothers & domestic violence. 

This study will allow us to better serve our patients & families

who experience domestic violence.

If you’re a mother and are at least 18 years of age, you can participate in this study by completing a short online survey found at http://www.childrensmercy.org/MothersSurvey

The survey is completely confidential and can be completed less than 10 minutes.

Please note that computer use can be monitored

and it is impossible to completely erase your internet footprints.

 If you are afraid your internet and/or computer use might be monitored at home,

please use a safer computer.

If you need to talk with someone about domestic violence, either for yourself

or for a friend or loved one, you can call the Metro Domestic Violence Hotline,

816-HOTLINE (816-468-5463).

This study has been reviewed by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Institutional Review Board.

The Bridge SPAN Program

Hope House’s Bridge SPAN program provides on-site, 24 hour on-call advocacy services at four hospitals in Eastern Jackson County, in the Kansas City metro area. We provide emotional support, domestic violence education, safety planning, shelter services, assistance filing for orders of protection, civil/legal referrals, community resources and more.

Victims do not always come into contact with the Bridge SPAN program through the ER. We may respond to calls from labor and delivery, in-patient, radiology, pain clinic, physical therapy or other clinics. We also provide our services to employees and visitors to the hospital. A key component to our program is educating and training medical staff on the screening process and how to provide the best medical care for their patients experiencing domestic violence.

Our program could not exist without our volunteers and on-call staff. They dedicate their time to helping victims of domestic violence. When a call comes in from a hospital, shelter staff will contact the on-call Bridge SPAN person, who then responds to the appropriate hospital, day and night. They help plant the seed of hope and show victims that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Here is an example of someone we helped through the Bridge SPAN program:

Mary* was in ICU after being stabbed by her daughter Lilly’s ex-boyfriend. Mary watched her granddaughter, Zoey, during the day while Lilly worked. Mary worked at night and Lilly during the day, so Zoey was always cared for by one of them.

The ex-boyfriend knew Mary watched Zoey during the day. He broke into Mary’s home with thoughts of kidnapping Zoey and killing Mary. Mary and Lilly were both at home when he came through the front door. Lilly was not hurt physically, but Mary was seriously hurt.

We were able to provide shelter, therapy and legal services to the family, helping them to rebuild their life through this difficult time. Mary was able to leave shelter, move to a new home, and return to work.

If the Bridge SPAN program sounds like something you’d like to be involved in, find out more at http://www.hopehouse.net/donate-your-time-hope-house.

Metropolitan Family Violence Coalition

One of the great things about being a domestic violence service provider in the Kansas City metro area is being a part of the Metropolitan Family Violence Coalition (MFVC). MFVC is composed of the six domestic violence agencies in the metro area, both in Missouri and Kansas.

All six of the agencies provide domestic violence services, emergency shelter, advocacy, and court advocacy, and all participate in the operation of the shared metro hotline (816-HOTLINE). The hotline is a critical tool for those who are in need to reach a safe and understanding person to talk to about their situation whether they are in immediate crisis or just need someone to listen.

The hotline is shared in order to provide one phone number for people in need to call, so victims do not have to remember six phone numbers in the time of crisis.

In addition to the hotline, the MFVC also offers the BridgeSPAN program which is a comprehensive hospital-based advocacy program. There are over 36 hospitals in the metro area partnering with the DV agencies to offer advocacy and crisis intervention to those patients identified in the hospital as needing services.

The agencies that comprise the MFVC are committed to meeting the needs of those impacted by domestic violence and working in collaboration to best meet those needs. Our goal is to work together, not in competition with each other. Our challenges are often the same so we can share what has worked and what hasn’t, support each other in our struggles and celebrate with each other in our successes.

We strive to not duplicate services but to offer a comprehensive range of services so that no matter where a person is in the metro, one of the agencies will be able to help meet the need.

I feel so fortunate that there are six very committed and dedicated agencies providing a seamless safety net of services to victims in this area. I have been to other areas and it doesn’t appear there is such a comprehensive collaboration working for victims.

It is our hope that someday we can celebrate the end of violence in our community. Until then, we will continue our commitment to provide quality and comprehensive services to those impacted by domestic violence and we will do it together as a group.

The Hope House BridgeSPAN Program

Health care providers are in a unique position to help victims of abuse if they know how to detect domestic violence (DV) and provide victims with referrals and support.  It only makes sense, then, to reach out to survivors in area hospitals. This is what the Hope House BridgeSPAN Program aims to do. 

Through the BridgeSPAN program, Hope House and other area DV programs provide a coordinated effort to address DV as a serious healthcare issue in 46 hospitals and clinics throughout the Kansas City metro area. BridgeSPAN offers patients with on-site advocacy including support, safety planning, and access to ongoing DV services including those for mental health. It also offers training for medical personnel, and protocol development and maintenance.

Recently, our BridgeSPAN Coordinator provided training to new employees of a local hospital about how to screen patients for DV and what resources to offer when patients screen positive for abuse. Later that evening, a nurse who went through the training called the hotline to obtain services for herself. She had been in an abusive marriage for several years and had never reached out for help. 

The nurse told the hotline operator that after hearing the trainer talk about what DV entails and what survivors go through, she suddenly realized that the trainer was describing her own life. That nurse was able to speak with the hotline operator about a plan for leaving her abusive relationship and she entered services shortly after.  

(Photo credit: Aaron Lindberg)