Local domestic violence is a social problem that leaves the victims suffering a myriad of challenges. These problems encompass physical torture, deprivation, emotional and psychological problems. While the physical torture leaves the victims in need of medical care and a place where their hearts can heal, their mental problems and emotional issues remain in need of attention until help is availed to them. Evidence shows that cases of local domestic violence are still high in the United States. Further studies have associated local domestic violence to post-traumatic stress disorders which leave the victims suffering even longer after the violence is meted on them. As a result, there is a need for local Domestic violence programs aimed at helping the victims cope up with the problems associated with domestic violence. The major aim is to restore normalcy in the lives of the victims in a bid to empower them. By having a clear-cut process and procedure for the victims, it is possible to help the victims access the shelter at any time for help, offer them education and necessary information for them to make informed decisions with respect to their condition. This paper aims at describing the process and benefits of a local domestic violence shelter program. It underpins the argument that a well-organized program can be of great benefits to the victims.
Process
One of the fundamental processes that the program will put in place in the implementation process of the platform is ensuring that the victims have accessibility to the shelter anytime they need assistance. Following the prevalence of threats, physical assort, deprivation and many other problems among victims of domestic violence, the tendencies to wish for a way out of such a situation are normal and expected. However, frequently the victims find themselves on crossroads as they wonder where to seek help and how to access the help. Consequently, the program will ensure that there is a reliable and available communication network that will connect the victims with the help they need. This will be made possible by having a 24hours call center that will respond to the needs of people who need the facility’s assistance. This will be boosted by the availability of free transport to ferry the victims to the shelter.
Secondly, the program will focus on educating the victims on their rights. Thomson (2010) contends that the ignorance of the victims on their rights hold them from making decisions that would see them safe from the violence in time. This means that some of the victims of intimate violence endure mistreatment for a long time before they make the decision to seek help. As search, they experience repeated cases of violence and due to ignorance; they do not request the assistance from the enforcement bodies available. The program will thus ensure that there are avenues created to educate members of the local community on domestic rights that every member of a family is entitled to. Moreover, the program will focus on highlighting key legal factors that the victims need to understand for them to make an informed decision should they find themselves in such conditions.
Thirdly, the program will focus on providing the victims with a platform to share their experiences with psychotherapists as well as peers. Besides providing the victims with a cool environment far from the perpetrators of intimate violence, the victims will be taken through thorough screening for post-traumatic stress disorders. Trevillion et al. (2012) note that the victims of domestic violence exhibit several types of mental disorders. As a result, the program will assign the victims therapists who will help them cope up with their conditions. Abramsky et al. (2010) observe that the victims of domestic violence need both individual and group counseling. To take care of this need, the program will ensure that the victims are also put in groups for them to access the group counseling as required.
Benefits
The emergency communication provision of the facility will be of great importance to the victims as well as the entire community. These benefits will accrue from the reliability of the communication. The fact that even neighbors can report cases of violence and trigger response from the facility will even help prevent even more critical injuries that may be meted on the victims by the perpetrators.
Lane and Lyon (2008) observe that in the absence of local domestic violence shelters, the victims would suffer dire problems among them homelessness and lack of necessities. Thus, beneficiaries of this program will enjoy a haven from violent homes. This will offer them shelter where they will be able to access the basic needs which they need for daily life. Besides the sheltering, victims in need of treatment will be able to access the medical assistance available at the facility. This will be critical in mitigating the magnitude of their suffering thus laying the foundation for their emotional and psychological healing.
Therapists in the shelter will offer the victims counseling sessions in a bid to stabilize their destabilized emotions as well as heal their psychological illnesses. This will play a pivotal role in getting them back to their productive mind conditions necessary for them to function normally in the social world. The platform for them to share with their peers helps them to encourage one another thus doing away with suicidal thoughts which are prevalent among the victims. Upon emotional stabilization, the facility will also find job opportunities for the healing victims as a way of empowering them. This will work as a pivotal ground for them to spring back to productivity.
Conclusion
Indeed, local domestic violence shelters offer great benefits to the victims as well as the entire community. By ensuring that the existence of the facility and the kind of help available is known to the members of the community will help see many people access the help they need. Provision of reliable psychotherapy and emotional stabilization will help restore confidence among the victims. All of these will culminate in the empowerment of the victims as rejuvenation of their productivity.
Reference
Abramsky, T., Watts, C. H., Garcia-Moreno, C., Devries, K., Kiss, L., Ellsberg, M., Jansen, H. A., et al. (2011). What factors are associated with recent intimate partner violence? Findings from the WHO multi-country study on womenʼs health and domestic violence. BMC public health, 11(1), 109. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/109
Lyon, E. & Lane , S. (2008). Meeting Survivors’ Needs: A MULTI State Study of Domestic Violence. New York: National Institute of Justice.
Thompson, G. (2010). Domestic violence statistics. House of Commons Library Standard N, (950), 1-8.
Trevillion, K., Oram, S., Feder, G., & Howard, L. M. (2012). Experiences of Domestic Violence and Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE, 7(12).
