SLTWC: Domestic Violence

BROCHURE: Your Rights in a Relationship

BROCHURE: Can abusive partners change?

BROCHURE: Family Violence Intervention Program (English)

BROCHURE: Family Violence Intervention Program (Espanol)

What is domestic violence?

Effects of domestic violence on children

Male victims of domestic violence

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Domestic Violence program empowers survivors to handle the immediate crisis by assessing the situation, exploring all available options, and taking proactive steps that will ensure their well-being and safety. This empowerment model encourages survivors to make their own decisions. The goals of the model are:
- To promote personal growth and increased life skills and competencies;
- To increase a person’s sense of control over life events; and
- To build new coping skills to replace harmful or unhealthy behaviors or patterns.

Domestic Violence Response Team
South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center and South Lake Tahoe Police Department have a long history of partnering to address domestic violence in the community. Due to the high incidence of domestic violence in South Lake Tahoe and as a result of this strong history of collaboration, the City of South Lake Tahoe is one of the few communities in Northern California that receives a state grant to fund the Domestic Violence Response Team. Since 2003, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Women’s Center have worked collaboratively to provide coordinated response services for domestic violence victims.

Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing
The Women’s Center offers Emergency Shelter for women and their children for up to 90 days. Clients who successfully complete the Emergency Shelter program but who need ongoing support may qualify for the Transitional Housing program, which provides subsidized housing for two families for up to 18 months. Both in the Emergency Shelter and in the Transitional Housing, clients receive intensive, individualized services including counseling and life skills training. The Women’s Center helps clients heal emotionally and physically, and ultimately, helps clients secure permanent housing and a violence-free lifestyle. A bilingual advocate serves all monolingual Spanish-speaking clients in the housing programs. About 85% of clients who complete the housing programs do not return to violent relationships.

Domestic Violence Support Group & Counseling
Individual and group counseling services are provided in English and in Spanish. A weekly, drop-in support group for women who have experienced violence in their lives allows clients share feelings, fears and challenges, learn aspects of healthy relationships, enhance their self-esteem, and eliminate self-destructive or self-sabotaging behaviors. Long-term individual counseling focuses on helping survivors recover from trauma they’ve experienced, and confronting underlying issues such as substance abuse or mental health problems.

Parenting Course
The 12-week parenting course covers child development, discipline strategies, coping with behavior problems, improving communications, stress management, single parenting, and child abuse prevention awareness. Participants may volunteer or be court-ordered to attend the course.

Batterers Intervention and Treatment
Treatment for abusers is available through a 52-week program, which is designed to help perpetrators understand the domestic violence cycle, including the emotional and psychological processes that contribute to their decisions to become violent and aggressive. The program’s goal is to teach every participant to:

Assume individual responsibility for violent behavior;
Understand the basic types of power and control and how they impact relationships;
Learn to demonstrate and understand empathy;
Understand and utilize good communication and family problem solving skills;
Demonstrate how prevention strategies, identification of high risk factors and the awareness of early warning and out of control signals can prevent violence; and
Eliminate violent behavior from their lives.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month
During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Women’s Center hosted the first-ever interfaith luncheon at St. Theresa Church. More than 30 representatives from the faith community gathered to raise awareness of domestic violence issues. St. Theresa Church also generously donated their beautiful church for our third annual “Take Back the Night” event. About 85 community members walked in a candlelight march from the Women's Center to St. Theresa Church, where everyone gathered to listen to survivors' stories about the impact violence has had on them personally and on our community as a whole. We also celebrated the Statewide Awareness Day and the Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day, which raises awareness about the devastating effects of domestic violence on physical and mental health.

Home Visits
In 2000, the Women’s Center began a home visiting program to help reduce the barriers minority and immigrant women often encounter when trying to access social services. These barriers include language, transportation, child care, and lack of knowledge about services available in the community. The home visit advocate assesses families for domestic violence, child abuse, and substance abuse; assesses child care needs and advocates with child care providers; educates families about local services; provides transportation, advocacy and accompaniment to ensure families get the resources they need; assesses health care needs including immunizations, dental care and prenatal care; provides parenting education; and teaches basic budgeting and other life skills.

FY 2006-07 Domestic Violence Services Provided
Advocacy: 291 clients
Accompaniment: 178 clients
24-hour Crisis Line: 355 calls
Information and Referral Calls: 1,007 calls
Individual Counseling: 680 clients
Domestic Violence Support Group: 130 women
Home Visits: 381 visits to 90 families
Emergency Shelter: 98 clients for 2,865 safe nights
Transitional Housing: 19 clients
Domestic Violence Response Team: 252 cases investigated
Batterers Intervention and Treatment: 196 men and 42 women
Parenting Course: 66 men and women
Community Education: 74 presentations to 2,410 people

DID YOU KNOW... DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RUNS IN A CYCLE?

The Cycle of Violence

Tension Building Stage
You can feel the tension. You feel like you're "walking on eggshells," like an abusive episode can happen at any time. The unpredictability of your partner and the situation may feel even worse than the actual abuse.

Explosive Stage
You may experience intense emotional, verbal and physical abuse. The tension can erupt at any moment. You might feel like it is best to just "trigger" the explosion and "get it over with" so you can move to the False Honeymoon Stage.

False Honeymoon Stage
Your partner may say "I'm sorry," or "It won't happen again." Your partner may claim the drugs or alcohol made him / her act this way. You may be blamed for the abuse or be told that you "provoked" your partner. You may feel confused and overwhelmed. Reconciliation may occur, but the cycle will continue all over again.