Saturday, August 30, 2008

Can Domestic Violence Victims Flee from Gustav and Abusers?

How ironic is it that at the 3 year anniversary of the worst natural disaster in the history of US, another storm is near landfall? Many of the residents in the Gulf Coast area are making preparations to leave. A few are digging in and hoping to ride out the storm. It's deja vu all over again.

Three years ago we saw many great gaping holes in the FEMA safety net. Daily, we're told of the changes that have been made. We're assured that help is being put in place in advance of the storm and that as many people as possible will get the help they need and deserve.

Yet, now as then, there is still one great gaping hole. I have heard no mention of victims of domestic violence that are in shelters now. Is there safety to be found for them? Who will guide them? And just as importantly, do the domestic violence programs in the storm affected areas have the funding they need to respond to the increased demand for services that they may face?

This is an election year. I'm surprised we're not hearing about this.

Three years ago the world heard about what happens when victims go to mass shelters and are found by the abusers they have fled. We know the outcome is not pretty.

When some of our website visitors reached stable computer connected they emailed us. Several reported they were ok but knew people who weren't. A few shared with us about some of the horrors in the Superdome. All were shaken and all of the ones who contacted us asked us to pray.

Because of what I heard, I became deeply impressed with the staff at the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. These folks did a marvelous job. The staff I talked with then were running on limited funding, creativity and sheer dedication! They were as heroic as any hero I heard about on CNN. But, their efforts weren't broadcast on television.

To the rest of the world, maybe being an advocate is not as dramatic as being a soldier. After all, advocates aren't called to swing from helicopters and rescue stranded people from rooftops.

But to a victim of domestic violence the advocates are the soldiers.

In the advocates own quiet ways they reached out to victims. They found them, plucked them off the edge of disaster, and brought as many as they could to safety. They weren't on national news casts. They weren't on national radio. You didn't hear about the advocates or the difference they made in the lives of those they helped or how they did what they did.

Three years later with another impending disaster looming on the ocean and it's still not being talked about. Why?

Is there safety to be found for victims of domestic violence in the face of the storm named Gustav? Who will guide the victims? Is there enough funding so that the programs and state coalition can handle the (possibly) increased demand?

We need to be asking these questions. Most importantly, we need to see if we can help and how. I believe that talking about the problem is the first step in finding a solution.

Will you join me in the discussion?

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