At the end of October comes many changes. The leaves fall, the clocks are set back an hour, and the air gets colder. With October coming to an end, so did Domestic Violence Awareness month. Domestic Violence awareness should not be limited to one month, but should be a topic of importance, everyday of every month.
The National Domestic Hotline, was authorized in 1994, and has been making sufficient strides to reach thousands of women on a statewide level since. Their website offers help on how to identify abuse, and what solutions and steps you can take to protect yourself.
The National Domestic Hotline has helped not only victims of domestic abuse regain safety, but as well their families.
However, some might not see the help of the National Domestic Hotline attainable. They might see the organization as too big, and not close enough to provide hands on assistance.
Many nationwide organizations have opened local safe havens throughout states in order to provide victims with more assistance, including offices on many college campuses.
Safe Place is an organization in place at California State University, Chico that strives everyday to help all victims with all sorts of abuse.
“The mission of Safe Place is to support and advocate for victims and survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking through crisis intervention, prevention education, resources and referrals.”
-CSU Chico Safe Place Mission Statement
Safe Place is located on CSU Chico’s campus in the Student Services Center, room 430, and open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm. All services are offered to students confidentially, and provide you options through the Title IX clause.
Safe Places services include but are not limited to
- Crisis Support
- Accompaniment
- To the hospital, student health center, meetings, etc.
- Advocacy
- Accomodations
- Resources and Referrals
Safe Place gained 96 new clients, and provided over 700 services to these new, and ongoing clients from 2017 to 2018. These numbers are not to intimidate, but to prove if you are suffering, you are not alone.
More than millions of women and men all over the world are silenced by their abusers, or their fear of not being heard. Organizations such as Safe Place are established to give people the strength to seek help.
In this year alone, we have seen powerful men, who used to be deemed “untouchable,” in the public eye, get put to the stand. No matter how big or small you may feel and what measures you are willing to take, you always have the right to be heard and to be helped.
Below are some ways to identify if you are in an abusive relationship, or were in a situation where you were taken advantage of. The first step is identifying and accepting, help will always come next.
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