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Fall 2010 Newsletter
From the Executive Director
In fiscal year 2009-2010, Victim/Witness Services operated in the black during a time when many non-profit agencies struggled. The goal was to provide the highest level of direct service to crime victims while operating with limited administrative staff and reduced overhead. We were successful, and you assisted us with your generous donations!
We continually measure our program performance with qualitative and quantitative measures and met or exceeded each measure in this year. Clients surveyed consistently report an increased understanding of their legal rights, being better able to assess safety needs, and general satisfaction with the advocacy services provided. Notable accomplishments for the year included:
- Providing over 3,000 unique services to 835 new crime victims including crisis counseling, criminal justice support, information and referral, and assistance with filing compensation claims
- Awarded Community Partner of the Year Award by Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University
- Benefits were awarded to fifty-three victims of crime in excess of $70,000 through the Victims Compensation Program
- Sponsored Dan Levy from the Attorney General’s Office for Victims Rights 101. Advocates and law enforcement staff from all over northern Arizona were in attendance.
Staff and the Board of Directors updated the agency mission statement this year to more accurately reflect what we do –
“Victim/Witness Services offers compassionate support and resources to victims, witnesses, and survivors of crime and crisis”.
We hope that you will continue to support us in advancing our mission and in serving crime victims in Coconino County! If you would like to assist us, or are in need of services, please call (928)779-6163 during office hours or (928)774-1414 after hours. In an emergency, always contact law enforcement by dialing 911.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) evolved from the “Day of Unity” in October 1981 conceived by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The intent was to connect advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children. The Day of Unity soon became an entire week devoted to a range of activities conducted at the local, state, and national levels.
The activities conducted were as varied and diverse as the program sponsors but had common themes: mourning those who have died because of domestic violence, celebrating those who have survived, and connecting those who work to end violence.
In October 1987, the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month was observed. That same year marks the initiation of the first national domestic violence toll-free hot line. In 1989 the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 101-112 designating October of that year as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic Violence has become a nationwide epidemic, and the statistics we face are astounding:
- 1 in 4 women will know domestic violence in her lifetime •1 in 3 teenage girls will be physically assaulted by a boyfriend
- Domestic violence is the leading predictor of child abuse
- Boys who witness domestic violence in their homes are 1500 times more likely to perpetrate abuse later in life
- 50% of girls growing up in an abusive home will go on to be victims of abuse themselves
- In 2000, 1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. In recent years, an intimate partner killed approximately 33% of female murder victims and 4% of male murder victims.
Recognizing Domestic Violence
Domestic violence occurs when one person in an intimate relationship exercises power and control over the other through a pattern of intentional behaviors, including psychological, emotional, physical and sexual abuse. There is no way to define a “typical” victim of domestic violence – it can affect anyone from any socioeconomic, demographic, geographic or educational background. The greatest risk factor for victimization is simply being a woman.
While most people are able to recognize an abusive relationship when it involves physical violence, relationships involving psychological or emotional abuse are more subtle, but no less destructive. If allowed to continue, these behaviors can escalate to include more physically dangerous abuse over time. It is important to recognize key characteristics of domestic violence so that abuse can be stopped before it becomes life threatening.
Executive Committee
- Kathe Shinham, Ed.D., CPA, President
- Lt. Ken Koch, Vice President
- Paul Bustamante, Treasurer
- Kris Stark, Executive Director
Board Members
- Diane Chung, Community Member
- Lt. Tim Cornelious, Coconino Sheriff’s Dept.
- Chad McCutchen, Deckers Outdoors
- Karen Pugliesi, Vice Provost NAU
- Marlene DeRosa, DeRosa Physical Therapy
- David Rozema, Coconino County Attorney
Volunteers
NAU Designs New Logo
Realizing that “branding” is important to businesses and non-profit agencies alike, VWS wanted to “update” its image. VWS worked with Dr. Patricia Murphey’s Northern Arizona University’s Visual Design Lab to create a new “mark”. As a class project, NAU students created a “mark” that symbolizes VWS’s professionalism, compassion, and the services provided. VWS is excited to unveil its new “mark”.
NAU’s Visual Design Lab will continue to work with VWS this fall is designing complimentary business sets, outreach materials, and fund raising marketing pieces. We value the strong partnership we have with NAU. Thank you, NAU’s Visual Design Lab, for the beautiful design!
Mark Your Calendars & Jump in the Saddle!
Got Horses? Then do we got an event for you! As a Domestic Violence Awareness event and fund raiser, VWS is planning an October 2011 invitational trail ride. The beautiful mountains and valleys of Long View will host this adventure complete with dinner, music, raffle items, and fun.
Please contact me at hhulen@coconino.az.gov or at (928) 779-6163 if you are interested in more information. As our first event of this sort, we have a great deal of planning to do---and a lot of fun to be had. Yee-Haa!
Mission
Victim/Witness Services offers compassionate support and resources to victims, witnesses and survivors of crime and crisis.
Values
Commitment – We recognize commitment as the foundation to providing compassionate support by honoring our obligations to our clients, each other and our community.
Education – We value education as a tool to foster self- confidence in our clients and their ability to utilize their rights and resources.
Trust – We recognize trust as a key component in instilling confidence and encouraging our clients to regain their personal strength.
Men & Domestic Violence
Research on the actual number of men who are in a domestic relationship in which they are abused or treated violently by women is limited. Due to cultural norms that require men to present a strong façade and that minimize female-perpetrated abuse (Mooney, 2000; Straus et al, 1997; Sorenson & Taylor, 2005), men are less likely to verbalize fear of any kind. (Dutton & Nich- olls, 2005; Hines et al, in press) (Dutton, D., & Nicholls, T. (2005).
It is estimated that of every 100 domestic violence situations approximately 40 cases involve violence by women against men. This means that roughly 300,000 to 400,000 men are treated violently by their wife or girlfriend each year. (www.oregoncounseling.org) Victim Witness Services provides services to men and women. Domestic Violence crosses all cultures, genders, and socio-economic backgrounds.
2010 Domestic Violence Awareness Activities
The Traveling Clothesline Project and the October BARS Campaign will be on-going throughout October.
- October 16: “Walk for Change, Paws for Change, and Sleep for Change”
- October 20: Sex-Fest at NAU: Look for our VWS table!
- October 22: It Happened at Home: It Costs Us at Work - Domestic Violence Solutions for Human Resources and Management Organized by VWS
- October 23:“In Her Shoes, Mens Walk in Solidarity”
- October 27:Sunnyside Youth Candlelight Vigil with support from VWS
- October TBD: In Their Shoes: Teen and Dating Violence Simulation Experience facilitated by VWS
Teen Dating Violence
Dating violence isn’t an argument every once in a while or a bad mood after a bad day. Dating violence (or relationship violence) is a pattern of violent behavior that someone uses against a girlfriend or boyfriend. Abuse can cause injury and even death, but it doesn’t have to be physical. It can include verbal and emotional abuse - constant insults, isolation from friends and family, name calling, controlling what someone wears - and it can also include sexual abuse. It can happen to anyone, at any age, regardless of race, religion, level of education, or economic background. Dating violence also occurs in same sex relationships.
Did You Know:
- Physical and sexual abuse against adolescent girls in dating relationships increases the likelihood that the girl will abuse drugs and/or alcohol, develop an eating disorder, consider and/or attempt suicide, engage in risky sexual behavior and/or become pregnant.
- Hitting your girlfriend or boyfriend is a crime; just like robbery or rape - it’s against the law
- 40% of teenage girls ages 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.
- Violent relationships begin at an average age of 15.
- 1 in 3 teenagers experiences physical violence in their dating relationships
Signs Of Dating Abuse
Everyone deserves a healthy relationship safe from violence and fear. Protect your teens from an abusive situation by learning these warning signs. Your teen may be experiencing patterns of an unhealthy relationship if:
Your Teen:
- Apologizes and/or makes excuses for his/her partner’s behavior.
- Loses interest in activities that he/she used to enjoy.
- Stops seeing friends and family members and becomes more and more isolated.
- Casually mentions the partner’s violent behavior, but laughs it off as a joke.
- Often has unexplained injuries or the explanations often don’t make sense.
The Partner:
- Calls your teen names and puts him/her down in front of others.
- Acts extremely jealous of others who pay attention to your teen.
- Thinks or tells your teen that you, the parent(s), don’t like them.
- Controls your teen’s behavior, checking up constantly, calling or texting, and demanding to know who he/she has been with.
You:
- See the partner violently lose their temper, striking or breaking objects.
Break the silence, be a part of the solution. Start the conversation now!
Thank You Volunteers!
This last quarter, VWS volunteers gave nearly 3,000 service hours. According to the National Independent Sector, the estimated dollar value of volunteer time for 2009 is $20.85 per hour. This value is used nation wide by non-profit organizations. Based on this rate, VWS volunteers gave service worth $62,550!
A special thanks to our Summer 2010 intern, Ashley Morrison. VWS welcomes our Fall 2010 interns, Lindsey Goss and Nicole Greenough! We have several volunteers who are leaving the team this quarter. We say thank you and farewell to: Kelly Butler, Amy Couch, Tonya Irick, and Alex Kuefler!
Victim/Witness Volunteer Crisis Response Training
VWS volunteers aren’t your typical volunteers. Their services aren’t provided conveniently during the 8:00 – 5:00 workday. Most typically, the phone rings in the early morning hours of one or two o’clock a.m. Within twenty minutes, a VWS volunteer is on-scene at a victim’s home, the emergency room, or the police department providing resources and support to help survivors recover from the trauma of crime.
The ability to sit with a young girl who has been raped only minutes after the incident has happened, to discuss a safety plan with a woman who is in the hospital because her partner has beaten her severely, or to deliver to a parent the forever life changing message that their child has passed away----these tasks require more than skill and training, it demands a personal commitment to serve and make a difference.
To be a VWS Crisis Response Volunteer, twenty hours of training is required. The next VWS training dates are:
- Friday, November 19th from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
- Saturday, November 20th from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Sunday, November 21st from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the on-line VWS volunteer application form at vwscoconino.org. Sarah Moulton will call you to schedule an interview and answer questions. Thank you!
If you have questions, please contact me via e-mail hhulen@coconino.az.gov.
“A Taste of Flagstaff”
The 11th Annual “A Taste of Flagstaff” was an evening filled with delicious food, musical entertainment provided by the Jack Webb New Orleans Jazz Band and Brad Bays, and fabulous auction items. Over 350 guests enjoyed food samplings from Flagstaff’s finest restaurants, raising awareness and funds for VWS. Thank you to everyone who made this event a wonderful success!
How You Can Help
Public and private entities across the country are struggling financially. Victim/Witness Services for Coconino County has not been immune to the challenge of continuing to provide quality service when needs are increasing and financial resources are shrinking. We invite you to help victims of crime in our community. Please consider helping in the following ways:
- Donations of used cell phones
- Make a monetary donation to Victim/Witness Services
- Volunteer as a crisis responder or by providing in- office support
- Support our fund raising events by offering sponsorships, by purchasing tickets, or by donating raffle and auction items.
- Donate gift cards for emergency assistance (food, gas, shelter)
- Offer sponsorships for staff training
Thank you for your continued, generous, support!
Funding Thanks
VWS thanks the Flagstaff Rotary Club for their sup- port of $950. These grant funds will be used to sup- port our educational resource library.
The Flagstaff Cultural Partners awarded VWS $10,491 to support the 2011 V-DAY events. V-DAY 2011 is in the making! Thanks FCP!
SAVE THE DATE-October 22, 2010
It Happened at Home; It Cost Us at Work
Domestic Violence Solutions for Human Resources and Management
Victim Witness Services for Coconino Coconino County Symposium featuring:
Stephanie Angelo, SPHR
Take a realistic look at domestic abuse to understand the complex dynamics; and why, and how, your workplace is affected. You’ll learn your critical role and responsibilities, state DV laws, policies; and how to mitigate potential violence and lawsuits. Employers learn the return on investment (ROI) of how to respond to domestic violence, why the workplace is affected, how to help, domestic violence laws, Workplace Violence Prevention Plans and much more. This program includes a manager/employee discussion skill practice.
By the end of the program you will be able to:
- Name the cost-affected areas of the organization
- Explain the human toll on the organization
- Describe the dynamics of intimate partner abuse
- Know applicable laws •Describe your responsibilities as a supervisor
- Demonstrate active listening skills
- Coach employees towards seeking appropriate services
Friday, October 22, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Flagstaff Medical Center - McGee Auditorium
1200 N. Beaver, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Registration: $25.00 -- Refreshments are included
contact hhulen@coconino.az.gov for more information
This program has been approved for 2.25 General recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute.
