Director Susan Nadolski-Haecker said her office assists people who come in voluntarily and victims reported to the coalition by law enforcement. When law enforcement officers respond to a domestic disturbance, they call advocates from the Family Violence Coalition to talk to the victims on the scene, Nadolski-Haecker said. In addition, there are advocates that work at night as well as two Spanish-speaking advocates. Victims of domestic violence can also come to the office voluntarily and ask for help, Nadolski-Haecker said. Many people who don't want to report violent incidents still want help.
Fear is a large part of it.
Occasionally, victims are reluctant to seek help or give advocates information because they are afraid of the unknown, she said. Most victims of domestic violence don't want the relationship to end. They want the violence to stop. In addition to helping domestic violence victims, the Family Violence Coalition assists victims of nonfamily child abuse and sexual assaults, alcohol-related car accidents and people who have lost someone in a homicide, she said. People are affected when someone they know is murdered or killed in a alcohol-related car wreck.