About one third of these victims were children. One such shelter, located in DeKalb, is Safe Passage. Safe Passage serves as a shelter for victims, but also provides other services to educate the community about domestic violence. Safe Passage services include a 24-hour crisis hotline, an education program for grade school children, teen dating violence education, help in obtaining orders of protection against abusers, shelter for victims and their children and group and individual counseling. Local programs like these allow victims to have a safe haven when they decide to get help, said a Safe Passage staff member, whose name cannot berevealed for safety reasons.
Domestic violence is certainly more than people understand.
Many of the domestic violence programs now are geared toward, or at least offer, some assistance with community education about the crime. The Safe Passage staff member said the DeKalb shelter also provides free educational seminars to civic organizations who request it, like thehospital and the health clinic, to spread the word about the help that isavailable. Along with local domestic violence programs, there also are national andstate hotlines that victims can call to get help. The trained interns, volunteers and paid staff members who answer hotline calls will listen to the victim s story and can refer them to shelters or programs near them to get away from their abuser. You just never know how much.