A Woman's Place launches campaign to spread support to domestic violence victims, survivors

Oct. 9—For victims and survivors of domestic violence, the right support can make a lifesaving difference.

"You helped save my life."

"I feel safe, supported and loved."

"Without your help I would not have gotten out of this toxic relationship."

These are just a few remarks from clients of A Woman's Place, the only shelter in Weld County catering to people who are experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence. The shelter, which is launching special awareness campaigns this month, has empowered victims and survivors through all-inclusive services since 1977.

Brittany Enlow-Gance, outreach coordinator for A Woman's Place, said the shelter offers residential programs to assist people fleeing from violent situations who need a safe place to stay. The shelter also provides financial resources, advocacy, safety planning, counseling and community education.

Johanna, a client from 2021, began reaching out to A Woman's Place for counseling support following years of verbal and physical abuse from her husband, according to a success stories document from the shelter. At the time, she was alone, pregnant and very scared for her life and future.

She decided to leave the violent environment when the abuse resulted in a miscarriage. She called A Woman's Place for assistance, and the advocates helped her rebuild her life and find her own place.

Today, Johanna is safe, healthy and a survivor.

"Today I am perfectly content and have peace," she said. "I should have left my abusive relationship sooner. My new life is mine. The help I got from A Woman's Place made a huge impact on my life. It meant the world to me! The people at A Woman's Place cared about my problems and helping me. I am so thankful!"

A Woman's Place has a collection of success stories like Johanna's, showing the need to continue spreading awareness about domestic violence and the resources available to victims and survivors.

For Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is recognized in October, Enlow-Gance has organized a campaign focused on community education. This year, residents of Weld County can expect to see multiple awareness efforts through flyers and yard signs, often targeted near schools, businesses and organizations.

Two of the bigger efforts this month are campaigns deploying bathroom flyers and empty chairs.

The flyers, which have pull-off tabs with the shelter's crisis line, are distributed in bathroom stalls throughout Weld County. This campaign makes finding help more discreet and, hopefully, safer.

The empty chair campaign honors the lives lost to domestic violence. The empty chairs are covered in purple, the color used for domestic violence awareness, and contain poster boards displaying stories from fallen victims, as well as resources and statistics about domestic violence.

"It's about the empty chair that they leave at the table because they're no longer with us. So all of those have a different story of somebody who is no longer with us due to domestic violence," Enlow-Gance said.

As outreach coordinator, Enlow-Gance also wants to quash stereotypes of who can be victims of domestic violence, what kind of homes it occurs in and even what domestic violence is.

"I think the one thing I would want everybody to know is that domestic violence is so ... stereotyped as the physical violence specifically against women," she said. "So I really like to raise awareness to the point that it's not just women. It happens to men. It happens to any gender identity. It happens in any type of relationship, not just low-income, minority families. So it's not just physical violence ... there's digital violence, there's sexual violence, there's emotional violence, there's financial violence — and it can happen to anyone."

One in three women and one in four men experience physical intimate partner violence, according to Enlow-Gance. A lot of people don't realize someone they know is probably dealing with domestic violence, she said.

For this reason, Enlow-Gance believes domestic violence is a topic that should be openly discussed and addressed.

"It's important to me just because I want everybody to know that they have a safe place," Enlow-Gance said. "I really believe that everybody should talk about it and it should be an open discussion in every family, in every school, in every community, so that people know that there are safe places or people for them to turn to if it's something that they're going through."

Catherine, another client of the shelter with a success story, said she continued working at her job when she lived at the shelter. No one from work knew that she was living in a safehouse with her daughter, and no one was aware of what she was going through.

"I didn't start to talk about it until a few months later after A Woman's Place helped me move into my new apartment," Catherine said. "I would not be where I am today without that help. I now live in peace and contentment. My daughter and I are healthy and happy now. As a woman that did survive, I am so grateful for the help I received from A Woman's Place to help me rebuild my life."

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of calls and people reaching out for help declined during the lockdown because most victims were stuck at home with their abusive partners. When those restrictions were lifted, the crisis line calls tripled, according to Enlow-Gance.

"We saw a huge amount of crisis calls coming in," Enlow-Gance said. "Unfortunately because of capacity restrictions, we can't help everyone. And that's probably the biggest struggle that we have."

In 2020, A Woman's Place answered 712 crisis calls, serving 273 adult clients and 160 youth clients.

This past year also saw an increase in funding, which has greatly impacted families in Weld County, according to Enlow-Gance. The funding helps victims get back on their feet by assisting with housing costs and bills.

That funding helped survivors like Abigale and her two young children, according to another success story from the shelter. Abigale had been married for 12 years before her husband got drunk and beat her. Later that night, she escaped her home with her kids without a wallet and only the clothes they were wearing.

Abigale's sister bought her a hotel room for the night. While her children were sleeping, Abigale called the crisis line and shared her story.

The next morning, A Woman's Place advocates moved her family into a safehouse. Staff also provided them with clothing and food until she got her paycheck from work.

For more than three weeks, with the help of A Woman's Place, Abigale began rebuilding her life and making progress. She started counseling, met with a lawyer about custody, got her own place, bought new clothes and enrolled her kids in a new daycare.

"Working with victims can be very challenging," Enlow-Gance said. "It's a very emotional job, but it's also one of the most rewarding jobs I think you can have."

Enlow-Gance said stories like Abigale's — victims and survivors escaping to a residential program with nothing but the clothes on their backs — aren't uncommon. But seeing people like that transform their lives within the program is the most rewarding part of Enlow-Gance's work, she said.

"It's really amazing to kind of watch them go from that to, a short while later, they've gotten a job, or they found their own place, or they're working on getting their kids back if they lost custody of their children," Enlow-Gance said. "It's one of the most amazing things to watch people be able to transform after the trauma they've gone through and really make something positive out of their lives."

A Woman's Place has also served multiple families with children in domestic violence homes. From providing baby products to handing out toys to children, it is one of the most fulfilling parts of the job, Enlow-Gance said.

When working with victims and survivors, staff have to hear some of the most difficult and heartbreaking stories. Though it's rewarding when done successfully, turning those negative experiences into a positive change is one of the biggest challenges, according to Enlow-Gance.

"People call us to tell us the most devastating things that have happened to them," Enlow-Gance said. "Just being able to set boundaries, and focus on the positives instead of the negatives is one of the hardest things just because we hear so much negative in our field."

Josselyn, a staff member at A Woman's Place, said a client told her that because of the shelter and the support she received, she had plans to "pay it forward," according to another success story.

"She said we remind her of the good in the world, amongst all the evil she has unfortunately encountered," Josselyn said. "It is my favorite thing so far because I love to see good deeds spark up a chain of other good deeds. I am happy she feels encouraged to pay it forward, because by helping her, we are directly helping someone else!"

Enlow-Gance's advice to people who are experiencing domestic violence is to confide in someone who's a safe person in a safe location and then call the shelter's crisis line, (970) 356-4226, to receive support.

The crisis line keeps information confidential and does not report anything to law enforcement, unless there are reports of child abuse. The line accepts anonymous calls, so if someone is not ready to leave an abusive home or relationship yet, advocates can still assist with safety planning and resources.

"There's a lot of people who go through this situation who feel really alone, and they don't know or they don't understand that they can approach it or that there's resources out there to help them," Enlow-Gance said.

To learn more about A Woman's Place, get help or get involved, go to www.awpdv.org.

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