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Joy in the midst of trauma
 When we picture the victims of domestic violence, we
often think of the partner who is yelled at and broken
down by their abuser. The children who enter the
SafePlace shelter have lived much of their lives as witness
to, and possibly target of, this abuse. “It is my
job to create a place of joy for these kids, and to try
and see the world through their eyes,” says Jennie
T., children’s program specialist, of the SafePlace
children’s program.
According to the US Department of Justice, more than half
of female victims of domestic violence have children under
the age of 12 living in their households. Of the
311 individuals who stayed in the SafePlace shelter in
2007, 154 of these were children under the age of 18. In
other words, nearly 50% of those we sheltered were children. “I
think it is important that we recognize the youth at shelter
as clients in their own right, and provide services tailored
to their needs,” Jennie states emphatically.
The children’s room at the house (our shelter) is
a friendly space, brightly colored, and usually teeming
with kids of all ages. Jennie, along with a number of program
volunteers and interns, work hard to ensure that the youth
who stay at the house have the chance to simply play, and
more importantly, have something to look forward to. “We
offer culturally-relevant activities almost daily, like
arts and crafts, cooking, yoga, face painting, and movies,
and the kids just love them,” Jennie says happily.
The children’s program extends far beyond the time
spent playing. According to Jennie, “we work
on non-violent communication skills. If I see a child
having a hard time communicating with another child, I
might role-play with him or her, asking about how it feels
to be bullied and what the impacts might be. This
is an opportunity for kids to learn some basic communication
skills, and by role playing, teach empathy and compassion
for others.” It is important that we address
these forms of behavior, and show children constructive
ways to talk about how they feel, so as to help prevent
future family violence.
One way in which we have done this is by creating a youth
counseling program for children at the shelter. This
gives kids the chance to have critical one-on-one time
in which to address the issues they are facing with a professional,
who can help work with their individual needs. “The
counseling program is amazing,” says Jennie enthusiastically. “It
is a life-saver to have counselors who can come to us and
work with each child. This is an incredible gift.”
The SafePlace Children’s Program has been largely
funded by donations from individuals, private grants from
the Northwest Children’s Fund, and the United Methodist
Church Women’s Division and public grants including
DSHS, Thurston County, and the cities of Olympia, Tumwater
and Lacey. The difference that the Children’s
Program makes is just one example of how your donation
can change the life of the youngest survivors of violence. |
Sometimes
preventing sexual assault feels impossible, like an issue
too broad to address with a single person’s
actions. There is a lot that you can do as in individual,
as a parent, as a business owner, or as a member of our
community, to prevent sexual assault.
Algunas veces, prevenir el asalto sexual parece imposible;
como si fuera un problema gigante relacionarlo con las
acciones de una sola persona. Como padre, como dueño
de un negocio, o como miembro de tu comunidad, hay
mucho que puedes hacer de manera individual para
prevenir el asalto sexual.