About us
Our mission
Domestic Violence Resource Center empowers all individuals and families to have safe and healthy relationships.
Our values
- We have zero tolerance for all forms of violence: we believe in everyone’s right to live free from harm.
- We treat everyone equally with fairness and respect: we provide caring and compassionate services.
- We recognize everyone is unique: we embrace all forms of diversity.
- We support an environment of responsibility: we encourage innovation and creativity in all our endeavors.
- We foster the spirit of teamwork: we uphold honesty and integrity in community collaborations.
Domestic Violence Resource Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, federal tax ID# 93-0665804.
Since 1975 we have been the only nonprofit agency in Washington County, Oregon serving specifically survivors of domestic violence. Our free and bilingual services focus on prevention (community outreach, presentations, trainings, education, library), intervention (Monika’s House Shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, group support, art/play/filial therapy), and empowerment (Survivor Empowerment Fund, advocacy, resources, referrals, safety planning).
Our programs and major services:
- 24-Hour Crisis Line
- Monika’s House Shelter, Washington County’s only emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence in imminent physical danger.
- Protective Order Advocacy Program, a legal advocacy program for those needing restraining orders, stalking protective orders, or elder/disabled abuse protective orders.
- Clinical Counseling Program, a counseling program for adults and children who have experienced domestic violence at any time in their life.
- Community Outreach, providing education, presentations, training, and other resources about domestic violence.
We do not
discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, gender identification or any other characteristic protected by law. Our services are bilingual, culturally sensitive, close to public transportation and handicapped-accessible. Our main geographic focus is Washington County, Oregon, but many survivors we serve come from Multnomah and Clackamas Counties as well as from other Oregon counties and out of state.
Download our general brochure
Download our Tear-Off Flyer
Please note these are large pdf files.
Interested in supporting our efforts?
Services
We serve all individuals and families who have experienced domestic violence. In providing our services we do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual/gender identification, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. Our services are bilingual, culturally sensitive, close to public transportation and handicapped-accessible. Our main geographic focus is Washington County, Oregon, but many of victims and survivors we serve come from Multnomah and Clackamas Counties as well as from other Oregon counties and out of state.
Our services:
Prevention
“I feel much stronger and confident in myself. I feel I can make my own decisions now. My children seem happy and I saw them play and laugh again.”
survivor
Intervention
Empowerment
Our programs address a range of issues survivors face on their way to living free from violence at home.
- 24-Hour Crisis Line
- Monika’s House Shelter, Washington County’s only emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence in imminent physical danger.
- Protective Order Advocacy Program, a legal advocacy program for those needing restraining orders, stalking protective orders, or elder/disabled abuse protective orders.
- Clinical Counseling Services, a clinical counseling and program for adults and children who have experienced domestic violence at any time in their life.
- Community Outreach, providing education, presentations, training, and other resources about domestic violence.
Download our general English brochure here (file size: 2.4 MB) or our general Spanish brochure here (file size: 2.4 MB).
Supporting our work is easy.
April 2012 Champion eNewsletter
In This Issue:
Run/Walk for Child Abuse Prevention on April 28th
Craft Project Sparks Creative Buzz in Shelter
Savor Strawberry Shortcake and support safe, healthy relationships!
Join Our Mailing List
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Run/Walk for Child Abuse Prevention on April 28th
Register with friends and family today!
April 28th, 2012
Start and Finish located in Tigard’s Cook Park
Kids Race $5
1k Run/Walk $20
5k Run/Walk $35
10k Run/Walk $35
It’s not too late to sign up! The inaugural Child Abuse Prevention Walk/Run is Saturday, April 28th in Tigard’s Cook Park. An event for the whole family!
Join community members from all over Washington County to show that we actively support safe, healthy relationships and a community free from child abuse.
Register online at: www.uberthons.com/childabuseprevention
Proceeds benefit Domestic Violence Resource Center, Healthy Start of Washington County, and Community Action
Ready, Set, Unite! is sponsored by Oregon Department of Human Services, Foster Kids Forward, Washington County Commission on Children and Families, and Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon
The Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center is located at 180 E Main St, Suite 200 in Downtown Hillsboro. For more information, contact us.
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Craft Project Sparks Creative Buzz in Shelter
Local Girl Scout partners with Monika’s House to host weekly Knitting Groups
Lately, the Monika’s House living room has been full of balls and skeins of yarn, knitting needles, knifty knitters, and many beautiful knitted works-in-progress. Clients are donning hats and scarves, and gifting their favorite projects to each other as they finish more each week. There is definitely a creative buzz filling the house.
For the past few months, Beaverton Girl Scout Victoria Pence has hosted knitting nights at Monica House. These knitting nights are part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project, “Smittin’ Knittin’”, aimed at sharing knowledge of this artistic craft and providing therapeutic activities for folks in the community.
Barbara, Victoria’s mother, reflected on her daughter’s project: “The residents are eager to learn this new skill and have learned how to knit hats and scarves. Some have gone on to knitting purses and crocheting afghans. Every Saturday night is show and tell about what progress has been made on each project in the intervening week.”
We love Victoria’s creativity with this project, and that now, knitting is a tangible skill our residents can practice and continue developing as they move on from shelter!
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Savor Strawberry Shortcake and support safe, healthy relationships!
Annual “Strawberry Shortcake” Benefit May 12th & 13th
It’s that time of year once again! Visit any New Seasons Market on May 12th and 13th and purchase a $4 Strawberry Shortcake and support efforts to create a safer, healthier community!
A fundraiser hosted by local Soroptimist International Clubs, all proceeds from these delicious treats benefit Domestic Violence Resource Center, and various other domestic violence agencies in the Portland -metro area. A simple way to show support and treat yourself, we hope to see you there!
Interested in volunteering as a shortcake server-extraordinaire during the event? Contact Christie to learn more!
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Sharing your favorite hobby, hitting the pavement in your trusty running shoes, or indulging in a strawberry shortcake treat- all ways you can be an advocate for safe, healthy relationships! These are just a few examples, how will you choose to advocate?
If you have your own ideas of how to advocate, we’d love to hear from you! Please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)!
May June 2012 Champion eNewsletter
In This Issue:
Thank you to our many supporters!
Recent Deaths in Washington County
Students Make a Mark at Monika’s House
Join Our Mailing List
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Thank you to our many supporters!
Soroptimist International, Oregon Food Bank and Champagne Spirit
Thank you to all the friends, family, volunteers, and community members who joined us Mother’s Day weekend for the annual Strawberry Shortcake Benefit! Your support is vital to preventing and ending domestic violence, as proceeds from this event go directly to our programs serving survivors with emergency shelter, counseling, and legal
advocacy.
A special thank you to all of the women in the local chapters of Soroptimist International, and New Seasons Markets.
We also want to share our gratitude for Oregon Food Bank, who granted us $1,500 to buy two new fridges! Out with old, inefficient appliances, and in with new, energy-efficient fridges to keep all our summer treats like lemonade and popsicles nice and cold for our warm summer ahead!
Champagne Spirit, a local women’s networking group, hosted their bi-annual Simply Da’vine event, with live music, silent auction, hors d’oeuvres and drinks, will all proceeds also benefiting Monika’s House. We so greatly appreciate all the women involved in that event, and are all champions for survivors of DV!
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Recent Deaths in Washington County
Responding to these tragedies
Our community was devastated by the death of two victims of domestic violence this past May. Cindy Givens, a mother of three and local Hillsboro resident was attacked in her home by her ex-husband,and Bethany resident Julianne Herinckx was killed by her roommate. You can read more about these two tragedies in at KPTV and in The Oregonian.
It’s tragic to hear of both of these deaths in Washington County, and numerous others recently throughout Oregon. If you fear you may be dealing with abuse, please know there is support! We’re here 24/7 to provide safety planning, resources, advocacy, programs, and support. Call our advocates at 503-469-8620.
If you don’t think you know anyone dealing with abuse, think again. Statistics show 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. It’s vital we all equip ourselves with knowledge and resources to reach out, intervene, and help prevent abuse in our community.
Learn about the warning signs, then find out what you can do. Reaching out and letting someone know you’re concerned could make all the difference for someone being able to seek help, safety, and a beautiful life. Please, join us, be an advocate for safe, healthy relationships. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)if you’d like to make a difference.
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Students Make a Mark at Monika’s House
Pacific University students sponsor a family room
In late April, the Pacific University Activities van rolled up to Monika’s House, filled with students ready to makeover a room. Pacific University’s Circle K Club, led by sophomore Andrew Hennings and advised by two local Kiwanis Club members, are the most recent sponsors in our Room Makeover Project!
Bearing paint cans, brushes, and bedding, they converted a large sea-foam green room with mismatched bedding into a colorful light blue room, with new curtains, matching bedspreads, more lighting, and art for all the walls.
While a simple gesture, they’ve now created a welcoming space where many families will seek refuge and rest, away from crisis. The ways the community can support are as simple as this. These students are incredible advocates for domestic violence survivors.
Would you like to be part of our Room Makeover Campaign? Read more about it on our website, and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you’re interested!
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Questions or concerns? Contact us!
January February 2012 Champion eNewsletter
In This Issue:
As important as looking ahead, so too, is reflection on the past
“Let Your Heart Rule”
Stalking Awareness Month
Thanks for Voting!
Join Our Mailing List
As important as looking ahead, so too, is reflection on the past
Reflection and thanks for 2011
The New Year never comes slowly. It usually greets us in the blink of an eye, and in this field, we are called to quickly acknowledge many important events and issues in its first few months.
In January, we educate about the reality of stalking during National Stalking Awareness month, and celebrate and encourage activism, inspired by a peaceful hero Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In February, we bring attention to Teen Dating Violence during its National Awareness month, and are immersed in planning many months of activities, services and program growth for the year ahead.
But reflection on what has passed is equally important. And we are amazed and inspired by what 2011 held.
We want to give our sincere thanks to each of you for all you’ve done for our agency, and for the promotion of safe healthy relationships in our community.
It takes a community to “empower individuals & families to have safe and healthy relationships”, and we are so grateful for the many beautiful ways you have been champions for this issue in 2011.
So again, to everyone near and far that’s supported our clients and our work, thank you, from everyone here at Domestic Violence Resource Center. We look forward to the continued work and positive change that lie ahead of us in 2012.
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“Let Your Heart Rule”
February’s National Campaign for Teen Dating Violence Education and Prevention
This month, service providers, advocates and teens raise awareness about Teen Dating Violence, and promote education, programs, and services for teens in unhealthy dating relationships. “Let You Heart Rule” is the National Awareness Campaign created by Breakthecycle.org and Verizon HopeLine.
The Facts:
• Dating Abuse is a pattern of behavior where one person uses threats of, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse to control his or her dating partner.
• One in three teens in the US is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner.
• Only 33% of teens in an abusive relationship ever told anyone about the abuse.
• Violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications by putting the victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence.
• Do you know some warnings signs?
• What exactly do healthy and unhealthy relationships look like?
How Domestic Violence Resource Center supports victims of dating violence:
• Direct support to victims through our Children’s Counseling Program: free individual & group counseling, education, advocacy and empowerment.
• Outreach to school counselors, teachers and administrators about warning signs and direct ways to support teens dealing with abuse.
• Ongoing educational presentations to local high school, middle, elementary school students about dating violence and how to create/maintain safe healthy relationships.
• 24/7 Crisis Line to provide resources, support and safety planning to anyone who is dealing with (or knows someone dealing with) teen dating violence.
What can you do?
• Make a donation to our Children’s Counseling Program! You can help ensure these vital, free services continue to give teens the tools to break the cycle of violence.
• Are you a teacher, school administrator, parent or student? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to talk with students, counselors, teachers and administrators at your school about healthy relationships and resources we provide!
• If you may know someone who is in an abusive relationship, tell them you are concerned, and want to support them.
• Whether they’re your friend , your child, or a stranger, you can offer support. Read about what else you can do.
• Help raise awareness among teens!
• Check out the National Campaign’s PSA for healthy, safe relationships.
You can be a part of the movement to empower teens to “let their hearts rule.” We hope you’ll consider some ways to get involved and join us in this effort!
You can read more on our website, and on the “Let Your Heart Rule” website.
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Stalking Awareness Month
January is nationally recognized to raise awareness, education and action around this issue
• How much do you know about stalking? Take the quiz.
• Learn the facts about stalking, and it’s effect on our community.
• It’s not that big of a deal, right? And if you ignore stalking, won’t it go away? Unfortunately, no. Read more about this, and other myths, here.
How does Domestic Violence Resource Center provide support?
• Our agency’s Protective Order Advocacy Program (POAP) regularly supports victims of stalking. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with this program!
• In 2011, POAP helped over over 140 victims file stalking orders in Washington County
• POAP offers free presentations in the community to raise awareness and provide tools to people supporting stalking victims.
Want to help victims of stalking? Consider supporting our work by making an online donation to our Protective Order Advocacy Program.
Why is it important to educate ourselves about this issue? To more confidently recognize it, call it out, and make it known in our community that stalking is not ok, and will not be tolerated.
Learn more about how to advocate for a safer community at http://stalkingawarenessmonth.org/.
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Thanks for Voting!
Can you donate ingredients for two holiday meals at Monika’s House this season?
Thank you to everyone who voted for Monika’s House during the IKEA Life Improvement Project Campaign last month.
While we are sad to hear we weren’t the recipients of the grant, we send our congratulations and know the funds will be used well by the Youth Guidance Association and greatly benefit their clients!
You can still support the sponsorship of rooms and garden plots at Monika’s House; consider some of these Naming Opportunities!
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Questions or concerns? Contact us!
December 2011 Champion eNewsletter
In This Issue:
It’s not too late to make your 2011 tax-deductible donation and Help Open New Doors!
“Stronger than you seem, braver than you believe”
December 12th Open House Celebration
Join Our Mailing List
It’s not too late to make your 2011 tax-deductible donation and Help Open New Doors!
How you can support Domestic Violence Resource Center this Holiday Season
Our Wish is “PEACE in Every Home”. With your support, we can help make this wish a reality! Your monetary contributions will allow us to, in the coming 2012 year:
Provide expanded services and programs at Hillsboro and Beaverton Clinical Counseling Offices
Educate local employers and employees about the warning signs of domestic violence in the workplace
Advocate for expansion of presentations and programs in local grade schools, middle and high schools
Create and implement the landscaping vision of our friends and supporters at WH Pacific, Inc. to beautify the property at Monika’s House
Embark on stronger relationships with community partners to improve supportive services to victims of domestic violence.
You can donate now and help open doors to safe, healthy relationships this holiday season.
Donations of gift cards to places like Fred Meyer, Target, WinCo, Safeway, Walgreens and Rite Aid can also help open doors and empower survivors to make the choices that are right for them.
Your donation can be made online, or mailed to:
Domestic Violence Resource Center
PO Box 494
Hillsboro, OR 97123
Thank you for Helping Open Doors this Season!
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Stronger than you seem, braver than you believe”
Two volunteers leave a touch of creativity at Monika’s House Shelter
The newest Room Makeover at Monika’s House is thanks to one of our stellar volunteers, Beaverton resident Mary Lee Lassett-Egbert.
A volunteer in Kid’s Club since March, Mary Lee’s hope in volunteering was to engage with youth and provide a safe environment where kids could just have fun. Activities she led ranged from getting outdoors, jumping rope (a pastime she hadn’t practiced in 20 years, she shared!) playing games, and at times, this even led to “creating colossal messes” with crafts and paints in the playroom. (I decided it best not to ask too many more questions about what this meant…!)
This fall, she decided to get more involved in the Monika’s House Room Sponsorship Program, similar to what Washington County Rotary Clubs, Pint Size Designs, and Beaverton Women’s Club had done in the past. With the help of her friend Anna Hoffert, she tackled one of our older family rooms and helped bring more light, life, and inspiration to the space.
They pulled up the old tile, painted, refinished, and reupholstered furniture, brought in soft lighting, and posted inspiring quotes on the walls, among many other additions. Their hope was to create a safe space for families in shelter, where they could “come into a beautiful space, get their thoughts together, plan their lives out and enjoy themselves.” One of the many things that inspires Mary Lee is when people realize and reach their full potential. She hopes that their room sponsorship can be one supportive piece for future families who are on that path to creating and maintaining safe, healthy relationships in their lives.
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While we are sad to say Mary Lee and her family recently relocated to Southern Oregon, she and Anna’s creativity and care will live on for years in our newly redecorated family room at shelter!
There are still a few rooms that could use some love and creativity! To learn more, read about the program here or contact Christie at 503-926-3245.
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December 12th Open House Celebration
Thanks to everyone who joined us!
We celebrated the Grand Opening of our new Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center last Monday, 12/12/11. It was wonderful meeting and reconnecting with so many of you!
In case you missed the celebration, you can still .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to hear more about this new expansion of our programs and schedule a time for you to come visit! If interested, let us know!
Special thanks to the folks at Peet’s Coffee at Tanasbourne for providing coffee, and our friend Kathy for baking us more than 30 dozen cookies, in over 15 varieties! The delicious treats were enjoyed at our Open House, as well as at our two counseling centers and Monika’s House shelter, a highly anticipated holiday tradition at our agency.
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Wishing you, your family and friends peace in your homes this Holiday Season! Hope you enjoy happy holidays and a joyous 2012!
Questions or concerns? Contact us!
November 2011 Champion eNewsletter
In This Issue:
Looking to give back this holiday season?
Open House Celebration at New Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center
DVRC featured in The Oregonian’s 2011 Season of Sharing Wishbook
Pumpkin and costume donations made for a festive Halloween at shelter
Help us plan two Holiday meals at shelter
Join Our Mailing List
Looking to give back this holiday season?
Gift card donations help empower survivors to get what they need, when they need it
Is your family, community group, or business looking to give back this holiday season? Consider purchasing gift cards for survivors at Monika’s House, so they have the resources to find exactly what they need, when they need it.
Your donation of gift cards in small increments to places like Fred Meyer, Safeway, Target, WinCo, Rite Aid and Walgreens become part of our Survivor Empowerment Fund, which supports the needs of survivors both during the holidays, and throughout the entire year.
If you’re interested in getting your office, church or local community group involved, we can provide small paper ornaments describing just how far small gift cards can go this year.
Please contact Christie at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 503-926-3245 for more information!
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Open House Celebration at New Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center
Join us Monday, December 12th 4:30-6:30pm!
Last month we announced the opening of our new Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center, an extension of our counseling services in Washington County. We’ve heard lots of feedback from clients expressing gratitude for providing a comfortable and safe space, and increased ease of access to our location.
We now extend the invitation to all of you, our partners, supporters, and friends, to come to our Open House on Monday, December 12th! Please join us from 4:30-6:30pm as we celebrate this long-awaited expansion of services to survivors of domestic violence. Come see our new space, meet our advocates and learn more about the services we provide there. Light refreshments will be provided.
The Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center is located at 180 E Main St, Suite 200 in Downtown Hillsboro. For more information, contact us.
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DVRC featured in The Oregonian’s 2011 Season of Sharing Wishbook
Client speaks about her experience with DV and our services
Domestic Violence Resource Center is currently featured as one of this year’s agencies in The Oregonian’s Season of Sharing Wishbook!
Melanie, one of our clients whose family accessed our free counseling program, was interviewed for this article and spoke about her some of her experiences.
“It’s easy to say, ‘I would never be in a relationship like that because I’m strong.’ But you don’t know until you’re in it,” she said. “To be in a place where it’s safe to talk about that, it’s like finding a new backbone,” she says in her interview with The Oregonian.
If you didn’t get your copy of the Wishbook on Nov. 6th, you can read the article here.
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Pumpkin and costume donations made for a festive Halloween at shelter
Thank you to our community supporters!
Monika’s House Shelter was busy with Halloween activities last month, thanks to a few community supporters who helped make the holiday more festive.
Local business Dinihanian’s Farm Market in Cedar Mill graciously donated two dozen pumpkins to Monika’s House Shelter, where shelter staff organized pumpkin carving and painting activities with our clients. Thank you Carlos and everyone at Dinihanian’s Farm Market for providing those festive decorations!
Another creative community member we connected with is Rachael Sykes, who last year started collecting Halloween costumes from friends to donate to nonprofits the following year. After making connections with costume stores and spreading the word about her annual collection, she was able to provide costumes to every child in our shelter this Halloween, specific to the types of costumes they’d requested. Rachael provided costumes to children at about five or six other agencies in the Portland Metro area this year.
If you would like to donate your or your family’s 2011 Halloween costumes, Rachael would gladly accept them for her Halloween drive next year! You can email her directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to donate.
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Help us plan two Holiday meals at shelter
Can you donate ingredients for two holiday meals at Monika’s House this season?
We are looking any of the following:
Cream of mushroom soup or other canned soups
Potatoes and other vegetables
Stuffing
Small turkey (late December)
Please contact us if you would like to donate some items for these holiday meals. Thank you!
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Questions or concerns? Contact us!
September October 2011 Champion eNewsletter
In This Issue:
DVRC Opens New Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center
Autumn Affair 2011
Thoughts from Survivors
Join Our Mailing List
DVRC Opens New Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center
Expansion of services to better serve western part of Washington County
We are excited to announce the expansion of our clinical counseling services in Washington County!
On Monday, Oct. 3rd at 8:30am Domestic Violence Resource Center opened its new Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center on Main Street, directly across from the Washington County Courthouse.
New and current clients, including adults, teens, and children, can now access our support groups, individual counseling, resources and referrals at this new location, which is an expansion of our current counseling services offered in Beaverton. Part of our growth and mission to serve all of Washington County, this expansion enables us to better serve Hillsboro and other cities in the western part of the County.
With this expansion, we’ve also moved our Protective Order Advocacy Program out of the Washington County Courthouse and into this new space. Anyone needing to file for Protection Orders (Restraining Orders, Stalking Orders, and Elder Abuse/Disabled Protection Orders) can easily access these services by coming to the Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center instead of entering the Courthouse.
The Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center is located at 180 E Main Street, Suite 200. To reach our legal advocates or counselors in the Hillsboro Family Advocacy Center, please call 503-640-5352, and press Option Two for “The Hillsboro Counseling and Protective Order Office”.
Our current full range of counseling services will still be offered in Beaverton Clinical Offices on Cedar Hills Blvd.
If you are a service provider or community partner and would like more information about our new center, please email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)!
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Autumn Affair 2011
Thank you to all those who helped make it a success!
We want to extend our sincerest gratitude to everyone who was a part of our 4th Annual Autumn Affair!
Over 200 supporters joined us on September 23rd at the Lanphere Enterprises Beaverton Showroom for an evening of wine tasting to support safe and healthy relationships in Washington County.
We had over 130 Washington County businesses who sponsored, participated and helped make the event possible, two Washington County Mayors, numerous Officers and Advocates from Beaverton and Hillsboro Police Departments, and more than 10 elected City, County, and State officials.
This event continues to grow more each year and we are so grateful for all those who joined us that evening and helped to make it a possibility.
To see a few photos from the event, check out our Facebook Autumn Affair Photo Album!
We want to thank all of our sponsors who made this event possible, including:
Lanphere Enterprises, Inc.
Pacific Office Automation
Columbia Community Bank
Vernier Software & Technology
Westside Florist
Olson Insurance
The Amy Roloff Charity Foundation
Nortwest Mortgage Group, Inc.
AlphaGraphics
Providence Health and Services
Her Nation
Cedar House Media
We look forward to seeing many of you again next fall at our 5th Annual Autumn Affair!
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Thoughts from Survivors
Reflections during Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Recently, a client accessing our free counseling services shared some reflections on her time with us.
Part of the counseling session incorporated tapping into her creative side: she created a timeline with her daughters, who were also working with our counselors, as a tool to help them remember and process some of the difficult experiences they’ve had.
At the point on the family timeline where she and her daughters started coming in for our counseling services, the mother wrote:
“Coming to the DVRC has provided an opportunity for my children to have a safe place that is ‘theirs’. A time where they can talk about anything and everything. I have seen emotional growth in the girls and increased confidence.”
We recognize the great need in our community to support and advocate for survivors of domestic violence. October is nationally recognized as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” and we are proud to announce the intentional expansion of our clinical services to Hillsboro this month.
This family is only one of hundreds we see each year in our Beaverton Counseling Center, and will soon be joined by many others seeking a safe place to heal, as we continue to reach out to Washington County, raise awareness about this issue greatly affecting our community, and ensure survivors know we are here to support.
You can be a part of the movement to speak out against domestic violence and help create a safer and healthier community.
Learn: Read about how to support your friends and family if they may be victims of abuse
Raise Awareness: Invite us to join your faith group, school, civic group, or business to learn more about domestic violence, and how we can do to create a safer and healthier Washington County. Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)for more information.
Provide: Make an in-kind donation of toiletries or household supplies to Monika’s House Shelter
Sponsor: Consider sponsoring a room or a garden plot at Monika’s House Shelter. Email Christie to see photos of recent sponsorships and hear more details!
Donate: help offset agency costs by sponsoring a counseling session, a night’s stay at shelter, or crisis line calls, for example. Read more about how your donation can support.
Ways of supporting survivors can be different for each person, and they certainly aren’t limited to the types of involvement listed above. Please consider, particularly this month and moving forward, what methods inspire you to best advocate for safe and healthy relationships!
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Only together can we create the safe and healthy community everyone deserves!
Questions or concerns? Contact us!
August 2011 Champion eNewsletter
In This Issue:
Tickets to our 4th Annual Autumn Affair are now available online!
It’s Back to School Season!
Join Our Mailing List
Tickets to our 4th Annual Autumn Affair are now available online!
Visit us on the web to purchase yours today!
Join local community leaders, friends, and neighbors for Domestic Violence Resource Center’s 4th Annual Autumn Affair, Friday September 23rd, from 6-10pm!
Autumn Affair is one of Washington County’s premier wine tasting events, and our agency’s biggest event of the year, critical to supporting the free and bilingual services we provide to survivors of domestic violence in Washington County.
Hosted by celebrity emcee Amy Roloff (Little People, Big World), Autumn Affair offers wine tastings from Apolloni Vineyards, Ardiri Winery, Kramer Vineyards, Raptor Ridge Winery, and more. The evening features live French American Jazz music from the Heather Keizur trio, heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts, as well as a silent auction and raffle prizes. With many local businesses and partners providing in-kind donations and services, all proceeds will go directly to Domestic Violence Resource Center’s programs and clients.
Autumn Affair 2011 will be held at the spacious Lanphere showroom located at 4000 SW Hocken Ave in Beaverton, thanks to the generosity of Lanphere Enterprises, Inc.
We hope you’ll join us! Tickets are $75 before the day of the event and available online at www.dvrc-or.org.
Autumn Affair 2011 is sponsored by Lanphere Enterprises, Inc., Columbia Community Bank, Vernier Software & Technology, and Olson Insurance.
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It’s Back to School Season!
Children’s Program at Monika’s House looking for basic school supplies
Its somehow already time for school to start again!
Monika’s House is currently filled with the laughter and activity that comes with having more than twelve children currently residing there. With school just around the corner, our shelter advocates are looking for donations of basic school supplies to keep around shelter and give out to students, primarily:
paper
pencils
pens
Thanks to streamlining of community resources, families at shelter will be able to access all other Back to School needs through our various partnering agencies. Thank you for considering the families needing support in our community when you are out shopping!
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Hope you enjoyed the delicious summery weekend we just had and are making the most of the season as we round the corner into Autumn! As always, thank you for the many ways you advocate for and support Domestic Violence Resource Center.
Questions or concerns? Contact us!
Sincerely,
Christie Costello
Community Outreach Coordinator
Domestic Violence Resource Center
503-926-3245
The Significance of NISVS, a study by the Centers for Disease Control
The Significance of NISVS, a study by the Centers for Disease Control
Gayle A. Sheller, MSW, CSWA – Clinical Coordinator of Beaverton DVRC Counseling Services
In my opinion, how we view domestic violence and intimate partner violence in this country will never be the same now that the Public Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun to systematically gather information about the prevalence of violence in intimate relationships. Through the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, which will be an on-going national inventory of partner violence repeated annually, we have our first numbers that are not based on criminal justice statistics or police-reporting information. The significance of this is most easily seen in the comparison of the number of rapes or attempted rapes of women that the survey estimates—1.3 million in the year preceding the survey—compared to the 84,767 forcible rapes reported by the national FBI for a similar time period. (The Oregonian, “1 in 5 women hurt by rape,” December 15, 2011).
NISVS, an anonymous and carefully-worded survey, was administered for the first time in 2010 and has now made public what many of us working in domestic violence have guessed: the United States has a public health epidemic of intimate partner violence resulting in 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men reporting severe physical violence by an intimate partner. This survey, which included some 9,000 women and 7,500 men from across the country, tracked not only incidents in the past year but violence across a person’s lifetime. Not only did the survey discover a much larger number of victims, but an alarmingly high number of victims who were first assaulted as children or teens.
The Centers for Disease Control have already started leading national discussions and webinars about the prevalence of intimate partner violence, what the results may mean, and how we can best prevent this deeply disturbing and costly public health crisis. In part, what this survey means to me as a clinician at the Domestic Violence Resource Center is that we are on the right track in reaching out to the numbers of children in our counseling programs who witness domestic violence, offering groups for teens on healthy ways to cope with violence, and in providing educational and clinical presentations in schools and for partner-agency clients that continue to teach “Intimate partner violence is NOT healthy!” Not for anyone. And what I hope will be the unfolding result of this national survey is that we will talk much more openly about domestic and intimate partner violence and not keep it the “family secret” no one acknowledges.
What this survey tells us is that we are certain to know or be one of the women or one of the men who have experienced physical violence in a relationship, and that it is a public health issue across all socioeconomic and cultural spectrums of our society. When we counsel and teach about healthy relationships, we can know that we are speaking not to a small minority, but to one out of every four women and one out of every seven men. To end this epidemic, it takes all of us working together to prevent the next generation of victims and to support the change we want in our homes and our communities. Family and loving relationships are to be safe places for us all.
If you’d like to learn more about the this survey and it’s findings, look through some of the websites listed below.
Click here for more information about the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey.
NISVS Fact Sheet
