Building a Community of Survivors

dcsafe — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:49:29 +0000

On October 18th, SAFE’s Co-Executive Director, Natalia Otero, participated in a community workshop for survivors hosted by The Family Place and Dr. Claudia Campos, advocate and radio host on El Zol 99.1FM. Attended by more than fifty Latina survivors of domestic violence, many of whom were former SAFE clients, the workshop focused on integrating this work into our daily lives as women in the community. She challenged each person there to take personal responsibility for this issue in our communities, in our families and among our friends. One survivors, a young woman from El Salvador, spoke about her experience after she left her abusive relationship. The father of her child attempted to have her deported after she reported the abuse, then tried to have her evicted from her home, and attempted to get her family in trouble with the authorities for helping her. Once they got to Court, he also both threatened to take the child away from her forever and denied paternity at the same time. Service providers explained the services available to victims including SAFE’s ACCION Line (1-866-962-5048) which provides immediate crisis intervention in Spanish 24-hours a day, 7 days a week to victims. Representatives from Mil Mujeres and Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE) were also on hand to talk about legal representation and counseling services available. Dr. Campos also encouraged men to join the movement to encourage male victims to come forward and to hold each other accountable for those among them who perpetrate violence against their partners.

Happy Hour for SAFE at Madam’s Organ October 7th!

dcsafe — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:14:36 +0000

Need a reason to drink? Here’s a great one: down a beer or two and support SAFE!

Come down to Madam’s Organ Blues Bar on Thursday, October 7th, between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM for our happy hour fundraiser!

You don’t have to donate a dime– just drink or eat. For each drink you order, $1 goes to us. Also, 20 percent of the food sales go to SAFE, so be sure to indulge in some of the best soul food in town! On top of the $1 donation for each drink, Madam’s also has a $1 off drinks happy hour special until 8:00 PM.

At the Madam’s Organ, you can enjoy the atmosphere of a live blues bar and soul food restaurant that has been repeatedly voted one of the top 20 in the entire country. Leave it to Madam’s Organ to give you an opportunity to drink for a cause– or, for all of you Madam’s regulars out there, to give you a cause for a drink!

Please join us at Madam’s on Thursday, October 7th, at 5:00 PM!

Madam’s is located at:
2461 18th Street, NW
Adams Morgan, Washington, DC
202-667-5370

We hope to see you there!

SAFE Numbers

dcsafe — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:32:45 +0000

As we round out our third quarter of 2010 (April, 2010 – June 2010) and gather our statistics, I wanted to share some highlights with you.

From April 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010, SAFE assisted 1,279 individuals with crisis intervention, safety planning, legal information and referrals, help writing petitions for protection orders, as well as immediate emergency shelter and other emergency financial assistance. For those 1,279 victims who received assistance SAFE Advocates:

- wrote 683 petitions for Temporary and Civil Protection Orders and 49 motions for criminal contempt;
- assisted 3 victims with Emergency Temporary Protection Orders after the Courts closed;
- provided 909 victims with legal information and education about the court process;
- directly referred 349 victims to legal representation;
- provided immediate emergency shelter to 66 adults and 112 children;
- and helped 27 victims obtain lock changes within 45 minutes of contacting SAFE or the police so that they could remain in their homes safely.

This year has been particularly challenging given the impact of the recession on our client’s resources and the increased severity of the violence they are experiencing. Thank you for supporting SAFE. Please consider donating to to help us continue our mission during this fiscal year. Donating through our website it easy. Just go to www.dcsafe.org and click on the “Donate Now” button.

On behalf of the families we serve —Thank you!!!

India Adopts SAFE’s Model to Help DV Victims

dcsafe — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:57:08 +0000

On May 29, 2010, SAFE and the DV Unit at DC Superior Court hosted a delegation from the Indian Ministry on Women and Child Development at the request of the US State Department to familiarize them with the practices in the Domestic Violence Intake Centers and the services available there. After an active discussion about the true needs of victims and the best way to help victims who were dealing with violence and poverty issues, the delegation toured the DVIC.

Upon returning to India the Minister recommended that India implement India’s Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) by using SAFE’s model of services as seen in the DVICs. The Times of India reported on the Minister’s recommendation. Take a moment to read the article here: http://tinyurl.com/2cgd8gv . We are very pleased and flattered that our programs have had such a far reaching influence!

Summer Volunteers Help SAFE Meet Victims’ Needs

dcsafe — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:41:22 +0000

In May SAFE held its two-week volunteer advocates training. This 40 hour training teaches participants about the dynamics of domestic violence, crisis intervention, advocacy skills, safety planning, risk assessment, criminal and civil processes, and self-care. These core skills are essential for advocates and volunteers as we work to empower survivors of domestic violence to end the cycle of abuse.

Volunteers are vital to our organization and assist our On Call Advocacy Program (OCAP). Our OCAP Response Line allows partner agencies to call our 24-hour hotline on behalf of a victim. Our volunteers and advocates offer safety planning and advocacy over the phone based on the survivors needs and situations. On Call Advocates may be dispatched to meet with the survivor and directly provide emergency resources such as safe shelter, transportation, an Emergency Temporary Protection Order and other legal and social services.

Our new group of volunteers’ dedication and diversity is amazing; from young professionals and current college and law students to retired police officers and executive directors. I want to congratulate them on completing their Domestic Violence Advocates Certificate. We thank them for giving SAFE their most valuable resource, their time.

Congratulations Jessica, Lauren, Megan, Gretchen, Anthia, Meghan, Phyllis, Michelle, Kenyetta, Jessica J., Lauren B., Meg, Yassi, Katharine, Liz, Diana, Samantha, Tabitha and Sara!

If you are interested in volunteering with SAFE, please visit our website for more information at www.dcsafe.org or contact Andrea Gleaves at agleaves@dcsafe.org with questions. Our next Advocate Training will be in the Fall.

Long time, No see!

dcsafe — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:31:13 +0000

Jessica Valenti’s editorial, “For Women in America, Equality is Still an Illusion,” in this Sunday’s Washington Post made our day here at SAFE, Inc. It’s been a long time since any of us have seen such a direct and relevant articulation of the idea that sisterhood may be global but all politics is local. Valenti illustrates the degree to which, in spite of enormous gains and staggering successes, women in America still have a long way to go before they can truly enjoy equality.

To bring some local statistics to bear on her argument, in 2009 DC’s Metropolitan Police Department received approximately 30,000 calls for service for domestic violence and SAFE, Inc. served 4,874 victims of domestic violence. The overwhelming majority of the victims seen by police and by SAFE are women. Their injuries are sometimes severe and even lethal. In fact, three of SAFE’s clients were murdered by their partners in the past year. If women in America had it as good as some would have us believe, SAFE, Inc. would be a quaint footnote in the Women’s Movement in an article or textbook and we would all be employed elsewhere. Until then, we’ll let the article speak for itself. I hope you find it as inspiring as we did.

http://bit.ly/a6kzAL

SAFE Provides Services Through Snowmageddon

dcsafe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:59:38 +0000

As DC finally returns to normal after Snowmageddon and its sister storm Snoverkill, SAFE continues services as usual after providing services without interruption during the storms. The nearly three feet of snow dumped on the city paralyzing everything from the US Postal Service to trash removal. SAFE is proud to say that we maintained services through our On-Call Advocacy Program Response Line by answering calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for nine continuous days as the sole source of immediate emergency assistance for domestic violence victims in the city. The Domestic Violence Intake Centers at DC Superior Court, which normally assist twenty to thirty victims a day, were closed for four days straight—leaving victims seeking relief from abuse with very few places to turn.

Many of the people we spoke to wanted to leave their homes for a safer location but could not because of the snow. Imagine being trapped by a natural disaster like a blizzard or a hurricane with someone who has previously tried to kill you or is currently trying to seriously harm you or your children. That scenario is most people’s worst nightmare. It happened during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and is happening to victims in Haiti currently. Several victims we spoke with were threatened with being bodily thrown out of their homes and locked out with their children during the second blizzard, which was classified as life threatening by local and national authorities. The type of dependency on one another we all feel, as well as the isolation, when a natural disaster occurs becomes that much more an opportunity for an abuser seeking to make a victim dependent and isolated in the best of times.

By providing services from our IP Based phone system, SAFE staff was able to work from home to provide the same services that they would have provided from the Intake Centers. The Metropolitan Police Department continued to respond to calls for service for domestic violence in spite of the horrendous weather conditions, and SAFE continued to respond to their calls to us to link victims with vital services. During that period, SAFE spoke with 95 victims, 11 of whose cases qualified as high lethality. We provided safety planning, information about legal remedies, and most importantly, a way out of a dangerous household. In some cases, we were able to provide lock changes because our locksmith contractor had workers driving four wheel drive SUVs that could still handle the snow. Although taxis were not an option, we contracted with a private car service that had several vehicles and drivers capable of working in these conditions to transport clients. Hotels were largely full, but were able to place three victims whose cases were extremely dangerous in hotels to ensure their safety. Because of the scarcity of resources and the challenges presented, we reserved these options for the most severe cases. In other cases, creative safety planning was required. One victim and her three small children stayed at a neighbor’s apartment for the duration of the storm because her abuser was still in her apartment.

Immediate emergency services for victims are a vital part of any area’s emergency plan. We are proud to say that SAFE was able to meet the challenge and continue serving victims as their situations became even more dangerous.

Be SAFE

dcsafe — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:03:45 +0000

In October 2007, SAFE, Inc. became an independent organization. Since that time, we have helped over 9,000 domestic violence victims, each of whom has their own unique and inspiring story to tell. These stories showcase the strength of the women and men who experience violence, and the children who witness and experience that violence themselves. With so many in need, it is often a challenge to keep the big picture in mind, and to remember that there are commonalities in these stories that must be highlighted if we are to understand why domestic violence continues at such a high rate, and what we as a community can do about it.

To explore these questions, we must take the knowledge imparted by our clients and their experiences, and look at the intersecting social issues, trends, values and systems that impact our client’s lives and our ability to advocate on their behalf – issues like poverty, homelessness, immigration, and media depictions of gender roles and gendered violence to name a few.

This is a new forum with many possibilities, but it can only succeed with your help. We want to create a true dialog, and that can only happen if you keep an open mind and post your comments when you agree and when you disagree. Please tell your friends, family and colleagues about our site and sign up for e-mail update notification to stay on top of the conversation.

From all of us at Survivors and Advocates for Empowerment, welcome to Be SAFE!