Family Crisis Center responds to abuse victims’ needs with help of community

Staff members at Family Crisis Center provide help for those looking to escape abusive situation through a variety of services, including shelter, court advocacy, education and more. They can be contacted during hours at (580) 436-6648 or by 24-hour hotline at (580) 436-3504. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER.

Family Crisis Center responds to abuse victims’ needs with help from the community

By Sunnie Dawn Smith

Recently, there has been a trend among those who work in domestic violence advocacy to change the name of what they do from advocacy to homicide prevention. While this might seem drastic to some, it is in many ways the truth of what they are doing.

While not all abusive relationships end in homicide, an alarming number do. In 2018, according to the Oklahoma Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, there were 82 people murdered as a result of domestic violence. This is one reason why organizations like the Family Crisis Center located at 615 E. 12th St. are so important.

While they cannot be open all the time, they do have a 24/7 domestic violence hotline. They can be called at (580) 436- 6648 during business hours, Monday and Tuesday 8 a.m-6:30 p.m., Wednesday 8 10 • www.adahub.com a.m.-5 p.m., and Thursday 8 a.m.-6 p.m.. The 24-hour hotline can be reached at (580) 436-3504 any time help is needed.

The Family Crisis Center provides education, advocacy and life-saving help to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. It began in 1980 just as a hotline manned solely by volunteers, but as it grew, the first shelter opened in the 1990s. The shelter is one thing the organization leaders are wanting to improve upon, mainly because they are often at capacity and sometimes have to send victims and their families to other towns for safety. While domestic violence is already traumatic enough for the partners involved, children present a greater challenge as being uprooted from their friends and family can be even more traumatic and devastating.

While most people want to see an increase in the use of their services to the community, this is one area where an increase is both sad and frightening.

“I would love it if one day I came in and I didn’t have a job any more – if there was no need for our services,” executive director Shelley Battles-Reichle said.

It does not seem like that day is going to come anytime soon, though. Family Crisis Center victims advocate Kati Johnson said she laments the fact that they are seeing more people than ever.

“Clients seeking sexual assault services have doubled in the last year,” Johnson said. “As for domestic violence, during the calendar year 2018 we housed 152 people in the shelter, which was an increase of 44 percent. Non-residential services went up 115 percent.”

Whether this increase is from more cases of abuse or better education about what abuse is, advocates are not sure.

There are many things that the Family Crisis Center does in addition to running the shelter. They also do court advocacy, such as accompanying victims to court for protective orders. They run support groups and educational groups. They train police officers to better deal with domestic violence cases and recognize which ones could be potentially lethal. They do programs at schools about healthy dating habits for teens. They also help victims with their safety planning.

While most people think about domestic violence as physical abuse, many of the victims say they would rather deal with the physical abuse than the verbal and emotional abuse, Johnson said. Bruises can heal, but the scars on the psyche can take a lifetime to recover. It is important to stop the abuse before it becomes physical and possibly deadly.

According to the Domestic Violence Awareness Guide developed by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, there are many signs that can point to psychological or emotional abuse like blaming the victim for everything; getting jealous; controlling finances, activities, sleep, dress and schedules; isolating someone from friends, family, jobs, school and church; verbally insulting someone; threatening to harm the victim or any children in the picture; threatening to take the children; intimidating someone; or killing or injuring pets in front of you.

One of the most difficult things about these relationships is that they don’t start out abusive. The victim may be very much in love with the abuser, so they want to make it work. They want to believe that the abuser has changed. However, BattlesReichle said these abusive patterns always escalate even if they seem to be better in the short term.

While the Family Crisis Center’s services provided have gone up, their funding has not kept pace. They are constantly searching for grants and tax-deductible donations.

There are also many other things that the organization could use as well. Staff members keep their current needs list updated on Facebook, but most people could find things of need by thinking about anything they use on a regular basis. These are the items victims in the shelter could use as well, such as towels, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, tooth

paste, deodorant, makeup, coffee and tea. At the beginning of this school year, they needed kids’ shoes and backpacks, school clothes and other back to school supplies. Sometimes they even need diapers, baby bottles, formula and baby food. Items they could always use are large duffel bags to help the victims grab their stuff quickly and transport it to a safe place.

Anyone who is in need of Family Crisis Center’s services should not hesitate to contact them. They are there to help people to whatever extent they need it. Those in an abusive situation and don’t see how they can safely exit if at all or if they have been kept from working or going to school, the Family Crisis Center can give them some idea of the possibilities out there before it is too late.

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