Orange County deputies responded to more than one thousand domestic violence calls last year, prompting Sheriff Charles Blackwood to call for Orange County to tackle domestic violence head on.
“It is unconscionable that Orange County does not have a shelter for our victims,” says Blackwood.
Ardith Burkes is the interim Executive Director for the Compass Center for Women and Families. She agrees, but says the need for services extends beyond an emergency shelter.
“There’s a need for shelter options, both a crisis shelter but also to look at long-term housing options for victims who are leaving an abusive situation, but they really don’t have the financial means yet to be able to support themselves and their children separate from that abuser,” says Burkes.
Currently, women who seek help to leave their abusers are either referred to shelters outside Orange County, or temporarily housed in local hotel rooms. Beyond the immediate question of where to go, Burkes says those fleeing abuse need long-term support to rebuild their lives.
“It’s really hard to be able to support yourself long-term when you leave a relationship that’s abusive, and so, the solution is not just having a domestic violence shelter, but really, what is the long-term housing support that can be offered for those families so that they feel like they have somewhere to live if they’re going to leave their abusive situation and start over,” says Burkes.
A county task force was created in 2011 to explore the need for a crisis shelter, but those plans were put on hold while the Family Violence Prevention Center merged with the Women’s Center. Now, Burkes says students at the UNC School of Social Work are conducting an assessment of community needs.
“We’re bringing some energy back into the shelter discussion and figuring out how the community can really own this challenge and come together for the best outcomes,” says Burkes. “What do we need for the whole system to come together, so we don’t end up with just a shelter, but we end up with longer-term solutions with community buy-in?”
Blackwood and Burkes both say one key to preventing relationship violence is to educate young people about healthy power dynamics.
“Some of our work with dating violence and bullying prevention is to do just that, really primary prevention measures so that the next generation has had open, frank conversations about what is OK in relationships and create healthy relationships based on people having equal power, versus what really is not OK to do to or with your partner, so that they could be spared being victimized or becoming someone who has abusive behaviors or characteristics.”
The Compass Center offers a 24-hour hotline (919-929-7122) as well as a range of counseling and support services. To find out more, click here.
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