National Advocacy Day

I had the privilege of traveling to Washington DC in June to attend National Advocacy Day, sponsored by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). Advocacy Day brings together domestic violence advocates from across the country to discuss the latest news, trends and legislation that impacts the services we provide.

Advocates from across the state of Missouri were there. We had a very productive day meeting with all of the Congressmen/women and Senators from Missouri. The topic of conversation throughout the day was the controversy that has arisen surrounding the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

This is the first time the reauthorization has become controversial. The House and Senate each passed very different versions of the bill. We spent the day discussing the “hot button” issues, and strategies for the two sides to come together. 

As always, the Missouri delegation welcomed us and listened to our concerns. Everyone continues to be supportive of VAWA overall, but no one was really sure how to bridge the differences. Discussion continues and everyone voiced hope that a resolution could be reached.

If you would like more information about the reauthorization of VAWA, the NNEDV website has accurate and up to date information regarding the process and the “hot button” issues. 

World Conference of Women's Shelters

President Clinton spoke at this year's World
Shelter Conference. NNEDV photo.

I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the 2^nd annual World Conference of Women's Shelters in Washington, D.C. a couple of weeks ago. The event was hosted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV).

The experience was a mixture of emotions for me. I was amazed at the number of people in the room working to end violence against women. 1,500 men and women came from around the world to share stories and experiences and work for better solutions!

I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness at one point.  I realized just how massive this problem is and even with all of the efforts being made to stop it, it’s still happening. I wondered what it will take to finally bring an end to this devastating violence.

Unfortunately, I do not think the violence will end any time soon. This realization left me, for a moment, feeling somewhat defeated. Then I heard a story from a survivor and heard her triumph over obstacles so huge no one would think she could survive, but she did. 


She not only survived, she is thriving. She survived 4 gunshots at close range - one through her head - and she is living today to tell her inspiring story. With that I felt a renewed sense of hope and determination. We are making a difference.

We were then addressed by President Clinton. He encouraged us to keep fighting the fight, to keep doing what we are doing because people are depending on us. If we can’t be there for these victims, then who will? He said we were making a difference in the lives of women and children all around the world, and that women simply deserve the right to chart their own futures and live their lives.

With that, I felt energized and ready to come back to help all those impacted by domestic violence. There has been so much progress, and there will be more to come. We will bring an end to the violence. Thank you for helping me work towards that goal.

Point In Time Survey

The National Network Against Domestic Violence (NNEDV) has released the results from their 5th annual Point In Time Study. This study is done once a year, to calculate the number of people across the country who are receiving domestic violence services on a given day (September 15, 2010).

This study gives us the opportunity to talk about the need in our country, and to highlight the services that are offered. It also allows us to see the unmet need and what work still needs to be done. This gives us information to discuss with our elected officials in order to address the needs of a very vulnerable population.

The national numbers are astounding to comprehend:

• 70,648 victims across the country received safe shelter.
• 33,129 received non-residential services.
• 23,522 hotline calls were answered
• 9,541 requests for services were unmet.

In Missouri on that day:

• 2,114 victims found safety in emergency shelters or transitional housing.
• 740 adults and children received non-residential services including groups and individual counseling.
• 286 people across the state were turned away due to lack of capacity.

Reports from the other programs were consistent with what we are seeing at Hope House: the economy has definitely impacted the number of people seeking services and resources in the community are down. The need continues to be overwhelming across our country.

The NNEDV website (www.nnedv.org ) reports: Across the nation on September 15, 2010, three women were murdered by their intimate partners. 36 babies were born to mothers living in domestic violence shelters. 391 survivors started new jobs. Three men committed suicide – one after murdering his wife, another after a failed attempt to kill his girlfriend, and the third after holding his partner hostage and a standoff with the police.

So we continue to be challenged by the ever increasing need, and we will continue to rise above the challenge and meet the needs of those we serve.

End the Silence on Domestic Violence

If you haven’t been watching Dr. Phil (on ABC) the past couple of months you may have missed his very exciting announcement about his partnership with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) and his new initiative called End the Silence on Domestic Violence. He launched a season long campaign to bring attention to the issue of domestic violence.

His shows have addressed the many aspects of domestic violence: red flags to look for, teen dating violence and the danger when leaving an abusive relationship. His attention to this topic is encouraging and brings much hope to those of us in the field.

It is so helpful to have a national celebrity talking about the issue, bringing it to the forefront and allowing it to be discussed openly. It is a legitimate topic to address and I appreciate his attention.

I am so pleased that Sue Else with NNEDV has partnered with Dr. Phil as she understands this issue like no other. She worked at Hope House for 18 years and is always bringing the issue to the forefront. Her efforts in this are greatly appreciated.

Many lives will be impacted by the discussions that have taken place and will take place over the course of the season. It is so helpful to have those with such a large audience talking about the issue, raising the awareness and directing people to the available resources.

Hope House will be here offering the services to those in need and helping Dr. Phil and NNEDV end the silence. For more information on Dr. Phil’s efforts, visit his website. For Hope House resources, please visit hopehouse.net.

The Demand is Rising

On September 15^th Hope House once again took part in the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) Census. This is an annual count of adults and children who seek services from U.S. domestic violence shelter programs during a single 24-hour survey period.

In that same 24-hour period last year, the results showed us that Missouri programs:

• served 2,033 victims.
• provided 1,238 victims emergency shelters or transitional housing.
• provided 795 adults and children non-residential assistance and services such as counselling and legal advocacy.
• answered 515 hotline calls.
• educated 1,410 people in prevention trainings.
• turned away 416 requests for service. 

While the number served is truly amazing, in the entirety of 2009 Missouri programs had to turn away more people than they served due to lack of funding/lack of staff.

I suspect that when the numbers for the 2010 census are released in a few months the picture will be worse.  I am anticipating that we will see more turned away, more numbers served, and a greater demand for services.

Hopefully soon we will see a trend in the opposite direction that will find providers with enough funding to increase their capacity to meet the growing need.

If you want to learn more about the census and what is happening across the country, visit the NNEDV website at www.nnedv.org and click on projects. 

Advocacy Days in Washington D.C.

I recently had the privilege to participate in the annual Advocacy Days sponsored by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) in Washington, D.C.

NNEDV organizes this annual event to educate advocates on new legislation and the needs across the country. We then carry a common message to Capitol Hill when we meet with our elected officials.

Our message was simple: programs are in dire need. More money is needed to meet the ever increasing needs of those impacted by domestic violence. People are being hurt and killed every day and we must do something to help those programs that are working with the survivors.

In Missouri, more women were turned away than were served last year. For every two women served, three were turned away. The demand for services is increasing and the resources to serve them are decreasing. We shared many stories and the frustration of not being able to do more to help those in need.

There was much discussion about how we can increase the money in such a very tight economy, when so many are suffering. This fact is clearly understood by those of us working with survivors. Thanks to NNEDV’s work, we were able to clearly talk about strategies and ways that this can be done.

I left D.C. with appreciation for the hard decisions that our elected officials have to make every day in prioritizing needs. I hope that we will be able to have the necessary resources to do our work and to help the thousands of people that are impacted by domestic violence every year.