A 24-year-old woman, choked and hit repeatedly by her son’s father, with blows so severe bones around her eye were broken, as well as her jaw, resulting in the need for facial reconstruction and insertion of a metal plate in her cheek.
A 16-year-old female who went to a work party, took a walk in the woods with a co-worker and was pushed to the ground and sexaually assaulted by him.
A woman named Sylvia who tearfully described how her boyfriend of many years beat her around the head and threw things at her when she refused to have sex. Eventually he grabbed her around the neck and forced himself on her, then fled.
These are just a few of the clients that been assisted through HAVEN, an organization for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault in Oakland County.
Last year, HAVEN served 100 Brandon Township residents, including 48 in the advocacy program? in which clients are assisted by a crisis team called to hospitals and police stations to provide emotional support, information and referrals for domestic violence and sexual assault victims.
Judy Lee, director of outreach and advocacy for HAVEN, says advocates are on call in teams of two and assisted by trained volunteers and interns. They will go to any Oakland County hospital emergency room or medical center, police station and to the START (Safe Therapeutic Assault Response Team) site in Royal Oak.
‘Our only agenda as advocates is to understand their concerns and be there to help them find what they need,? Lee said. ‘We offer information and resources. We’re strictly there for them. We’re just trying to respond to their agenda and give emotional support. Someone who spends the time listening to what is going on without judging them may be the most liberating thing of all.?
HAVEN also assisted 22 clients in the supervised parenting program, which provides supervised parenting with a non-custodial parent; 13 in a program that provides non-residential counseling to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse; 11 men in a court-ordered batterer’s program that teaches awareness of abuse patterns and how to change those patterns; and four residents in a shelter program that provides a variety of services and a place to stay for abuse victims.
Ortonville residents (five) and Groveland Township residents (eight) were also assisted last year.
‘We’ve seen a steady increase over the last few years,? said Beth Morrison, president and CEO of HAVEN. ‘It’s hard to give a reason. The need stays relatively the same, but the number of calls goes up when people become aware of the programs. We try to reach out and encourage women to call and see what their options are.?
Morrison notes that physical battering is not the only form of abuse? domestic violence can take many forms such as emotional, financial, verbal and sexual abuse, that are just as terrifying and difficult to survive.
She encourages individuals to call if they are suffering from any of these and she often gets calls from concerned friends, family members and coworkers of the abused who want to know how to help.
‘Abuse is something that occurs over time and results from issues of power and control,? Morrison explains. ‘Domestic violence and sexual abuse do not discriminate. It affects every race, ethnicity, and socio-economic group. Reach out, you’re not alone.?
For more information on HAVEN’s programs, call the local crisis and support line at (248) 334-1274; or the toll-free crisis and support line at (877) 922-1274.
To volunteer or make a donation of goods to HAVEN, call (248) 334-1284, ext. 301. To make a financial contribution to HAVEN call (248) 334-1284, ext. 340.