Posted: Wednesday, Sep 30, 2009 - 10:23:36 am CDT
 

CARDV brings support to domestic violence victims in county

For those scared and in a volatile personal situation, CARDV is a lifeline to deal with those struggles.

"One of the best-kept secrets we have in our country is that one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime," said Jerrie Bell, interim executive director of CARDV. "It greatly affects our population as a whole and I really don't think we truly understand the dynamics of domestic violence or the impact it has in our community."

The Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence began more than a decade ago in Callaway County as a resource to help battered women struggling with violence in their lives.

Thanks to $18,000 in support from the Callaway County United Way, as well as various state and federal grants, CARDV volunteers and staff provide a 24-hour crisis hotline, counsel those who need help and advocate for victims in myriad ways.

"I was one of the those people in the first group of concerned citizens in 1995 and in the subsequent years we applied for state and federal funding to staff a program," Bell said. "The coalition has since grown to provide a number of direct services to victims of violence and sexual assault."

A study released last year showed domestic violence as a rising problem in Callaway County. In a comprehensive community assessment sponsored by the Missouri Foundation for Health, the YMCA of Callaway County found that 607 domestic violence incidents were reported in 2006. That number is up nearly 75 percent compared to five years prior, when only 346 incidents were reported in 2001.

Bell noted that the organization offers numerous services to those in need of support and help through difficult times.

"We are often contacted through law enforcement when they are being called out to domestic incidents, and we often go to assist the victim, to advocate for her, to support her in whatever decision she makes at the time," she said. "We also run a crisis line that we man 24 hours, seven days a week to be there for people who are living in a domestic violence situation and want assistance with intervention, orders of protection or housing to help protect them from violent crime."

Bell noted that the problem isn't shrinking from CARDV's perspective. Just in 2008 it helped 633 individuals and received 2,012 calls through its crisis hotline.

"The numbers are big, and the reality of it is those numbers probably represent only 10-20 percent of the things that are going on in the county, so we're not even seeing the majority of the victims."

The Callaway County United Way understands CARDV's importance in the community and aids the organization with monetary support to help it pay its six-person staff and keep the dozens of volunteers organized.

"It's very difficult to get grant funding for anything that isn't a direct service for victims, but everyone knows you have to have a building, have to pay staff and need funds for housing, food and shelter of victims," Bell said. "We have very little left to cover overhead costs, and the United Way helps us greatly in assisting us as a program."

Bell explained that even though the organization has been advocating for women throughout the past two decades, some still find it hard to relate to the situation.

"I think often the first question is "why doesn't she just leave?" but that sort of response doesn't grasp what a layered, difficult issue this is to address," she said. "I think spending time, spending a month just getting the concept across about why domestic violence occurs is an integral step to bring about empathy and, in that empathy, support."

You can read more about CARDV in October as the United Way highlights the agency on its Web site at www.callawayunitedway.com/CARDVSpotlight.htm.