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Posted on February 13, 2012 by Susan
Whatcom County is once again participating in the Verizon Wireless Hopeline Campaign. We will be collecting used and no-longer-being-used cell phones, and turning them in to Verizon Wireless. The phones can be any carrier or brand, old or new, working or not.
Verizon Wireless will clear the memory of donated phones; re-program them with free minutes and phone numbers for safety, such as 911 and the national domestic violence hotline; and then redistribute the phones to victims of domestic violence (generally through local victim service agencies).
The Hopeline Campaign is a competition that Counties nationwide can participate in – and the County that collects the most cell phones wins a $10,000 grant from Verizon. Cell phone collection has already started, and will continue until June 15th.
Last year, in 2011, Whatcom County won the competition, beating out larger counties, including Los Angeles. Led by the Ferndale Police Department, the Whatcom County Sheriff and Police Chiefs Association, and the Domestic Violence Commission, we collected more than $1,500 phones (more phones than those collected by the Los Angelos Police Department) – we’d like to double that number this year.
The $10,000 Hopeline grant is used for local domestic violence programming. In Whatcom County, we have decided to use that money to fund the Domestic Violence Specialist (DVS), a prosecution-based advocate for victims of domestic violence. The DVS serves victims of domestic violence who have criminal cases in the cities of Blaine, Everson-Nooksack, Ferndale, Lynden, and Sumas. The DVS gives the victims a voice in the criminal justice system, and refers victims to vital support services in the community.
If we win again this year, the $10,000 Hopeline grant will help the small cities of Whatcom County continue to offer crucial advocacy services to victims who, otherwise, would be navigating the criminal justice system alone.
If you would like to donate your old cell phones to the campaign, please look at the list below for collection sites.
If you would like to participate in the campaign as a collection site for cell phones, contact Susan Marks via email or at 360.312.5700 x 202. We will deliver collection boxes to you, and then pick them up when they are full. You can collect phones at your workplace, faith community, neighborhood, school, or anywhere else you’d like.
Finally, spread the word – everyone is welcome to help support our efforts to respond to domestic violence in Whatcom County.
Phones can be donated at the following locations:
Bellingham:
- Bellingham Housing Authority, 208 Unity Street
- Christ the King Church, 4173 Meridian
- Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, 2600 Lakeway Drive
- Cornwall Park Church, 4518 Northwest Drive
- DSHS Community Service Office, 4101 Meridian
- DVSAS, 1407 Commercial Street
- Hunter Law Office, 103 E. Holly Street, Suite 519
- Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood, 1530 Ellis Street and 1509 Cornwall Avenue
- SeaMar Community Health Center, 4455 Cordata Parkway
- Violence Intervention Professionals, 2130 James Street
- Wade King Elementary School, 2155 Yew Street
- Western Washington University, Old Main 403, Residence Halls, and various other locations throughout campus
- Whatcom County Planning & Development Office, 5280 Northwest Drive
- Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, 311 Grand Avenue for Main Jail or Administrative Office, 2030 Division street for Work Center
- Whatcom Land Title, 2011 Young Street
- Womencare Shelter Administrative Office, 4120 Meridian Street #220
- Worksource, 101 Prospect Street
Blaine:
- Blaine City Hall, 344 H Street
Everson:
- SeaMar Community Health Center, 6884 Hannegan Road
Ferndale:
- Ace Hardware, 5715 4th Avenue
- Chihuahua’s Restaurant, 5694 3rd Avenue
- Elie Samuel Furniture, 1904 Main Street
- Ferndale School District, 6041 Vista Drive
- Tru-Value, 2000 Main Street
Sumas:
- Sumas City Hall, 433 Cherry Street
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Posted on February 1, 2012 by Susan
Domestic Violence Commission Honored Employers for Implementing Comprehensive Domestic Violence in the Workplace Policies and Procedures
County Executive Jack Louws presented Certificates of Recognition to eight Whatcom County workplaces that have adopted and implemented comprehensive domestic violence in the workplace policies and procedures. The presentation was during the DV Commission’s meeting on Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 10:00 – 10:30 am at the Bellingham Police Department’s training room.
The eight workplaces that were honored by the DV Commission were:
The Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence (DV Commission) provides leadership in our community’s efforts to reduce and prevent domestic violence.
Susan Marks, DV Commission director, said these policies and procedures were developed after a 2008 state fatality report recommended that “employers should develop policies and issue guidelines for supervisors and human resource personnel on how to address domestic violence situations in a safe and supportive manner.”
“Based on that report, we worked closely with local human resource professionals and employment attorneys to develop model policies, procedures, and guidelines that could help local employers respond to domestic violence,” Marks said.
Gary Jensen, the owner of Sullivan Plumbing and Mayor of Ferndale serving on the DV Commission, said these templates are a great resource for small businesses.
“As a small business owner, I appreciate having these tools to help me review my employee manual, address the reality of domestic violence, and do the right thing. Several employees even thanked me for including these policies, as it had been a reality in their lives,” Jensen said.
Also at the meeting, the DV Commission kicked off its 2012 DV in the Workplace Challenge, an initiative intended to recruit an additional 50 businesses or organizations to adopt domestic violence policies and procedures.
The template for the model policies, procedures, and guidelines can be found on the DV Commission’s website under new & noteworthy. The DV Commission can assist with adapting and implementing policies and procedures for individual workplaces, and with providing training for supervisors and managers. Any employer who is interested in developing domestic violence policies and procedures for their workplace can contact Susan Marks, DV Commission Director via e-mail or (360) 312-5700 x 202.
For more information about the DV in the Workplace recognition, you can read the following media articles by clicking on the links below:
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Posted on January 19, 2012 by Susan
Safety and Accountability Audits – Transforming Communities to End Violence Against Women: Bellingham – Whatcom County, Washington
Sue Parrott, DV Commission Program Supervisor, and Bruce Van Glubt, DV Commission member and Whatcom County District Court and Probation Supervisor, are presenting a national webinar on Safety Audits. The webinar is sponsored by the Battered Women’s Justice Project, and is on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 from 12:00 – 1:30 pm, Pacific time.
Over the past nine years, the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence has conducted four Domestic Violence Safety and Accountability Audits (now known as Community Safety Assessments). These Audits have provided a foundation for the DV Commission and the community to implement systemic changes in the criminal and civil legal system response, as well as in domestic violence services.
Bruce Van Glubt and Sue Parrott will talk about the Audit process and changes that have resulted from these Audits, such as a standard law enforcement risk assessment tool, a shared system-based DV advocate for the five small municipalities in Whatcom County (Blaine, Everson-Nooksack, Ferndale, Lynden, and Sumas) , updated law enforcement DV policies, and numerous changes in court processes for DV protection order petitioners. The presenters will discuss both the opportunities and challenges the DV Commission has faced in its efforts to promote, build, and maintain institutional changes that place victim safety at the center.
Whatcom County, WA, population 170,000, is a mix of urban and rural communities, with nearly 10 different county, municipal, and tribal jurisdictions. Much of the population is low income. The immigrant population is from many countries and is rapidly growing in the county, particularly in the rural, agricultural areas.
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Posted on January 11, 2012 by Susan
Dating and Domestic Violence:
An Information and Resource Handbook
Published January 2012
4th Edition
This month, the Domestic Violence Commission released its fourth edition of Dating and Domestic Violence: An Information and Resource Handbook. This handbook contains information about domestic and dating violence as well as local, statewide, and national resources. To view or print Dating and Domestic Violence: An Information and Resource Handbook, go the resources page of our website under new & noteworthy.
The Resource Handbook is a useful tool for professionals including domestic violence advocates and others who work with victims or perpetrators, as well as for victims and perpetrators themselves. It can also be used for community education and training efforts related to domestic and dating violence.
This comprehensive Information and Resource Handbook contains domestic and dating violence information related to the following themes:
- what is domestic violence?
- victims
- children and domestic violence
- teen dating violence
- batterers
- law enforcement and legal response
- community resources
The Dating and Domestic Violence Resource Handbook was originally printed in 1999; since then it has been revised, updated, and reprinted in 2003, 2007, and now again in 2012.
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Posted on January 6, 2012 by Susan
In Memoriam: Ellen Pence
April 15, 1948-January 6, 2012
“If you are living with a batterer, it is not cyclical.” – Ellen Pence
Domestic violence survivors, advocates, and programs across the world are remembering one of the battered women’s movement’s most influential and committed activities.
Ellen Pence (1948 – 2012) was a scholar and a social activist. She co-founded the Duluth Domestic Intervention Project, an inter-agency collaboration model used in all 50 states in the U.S. and More than 17 countries. She also founded Praxis International and developed the Praxis Safety and Accountability Audit.
A leader in both the battered women’s movement and the emerging field of institutional ethnography, she was the recipient of numerous awards including the 2008 Society for the Study of Social Problems Dorothy E. Smith Scholar Activist Award for significant contributions in a career of activist research.
Known for her generosity, quick wit, and sense of humor, Ellen learned from battered women and has worked with and trained thousands of professionals in the domestic violence field.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ellen graduated from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota with a B.A. She was active in institutional change work for battered women since 1975, and helped found the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in 1980.
Ellen is credited with creating the Community Coordinated Response (CCR) Model of intervention in domestic violence cases, which uses an interagency collaborative approach involving police, probation, courts, and human services in response to domestic abuse. The primary goal of CCR is to protect victims from on-going abuse.
Ellen received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Toronto in 1996. She used institutional ethnography as a method of organizing community groups to analyze problems created by institutional intervention in families. She founded Praxis International in 1998 and was the chief author and architect of the Praxis Institutional Audit, a method of identifying, analyzing, and correcting institutional failures to protect people drawn into legal and human service systems because of violence and poverty.
Ellen died of breast cancer on January 6, 2012.
Ellen Pence in the Media
Seeing shades of gray within domestic violence
The creation of the power and control wheel
Interview of Ellen Pence by Casey Gwinn
Why gender and context matter
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Posted on January 3, 2012 by Susan
DV Commission Strategic Plan, 2012 – 2014
Throughout 2011, a committee of the DV Commission met and did research in the community to create a new strategic plan to guide the DV Commission’s initiatives over the next three years. At its October 4, 2011 meeting, the full DV Commission approved the strategic plan.
You download the DV Commission Strategic Plan: 2012 – 2014 from our website, and read below for a summary of the plan.
Mission & Purpose
In accordance with the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County ordinances that established the DV Commission, the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence provides leadership in our community’s efforts to reduce and prevent domestic violence.
To fulfill this vital mission, we:
- Develop, implement and monitor a comprehensive domestic violence plan.
- Increase community awareness and understanding of domestic violence.
- Serve as an advisory body regarding domestic violence issues to local governments, service agencies and the community as a whole.
- Develop community benchmarks to monitor change.
- Promote collaboration and coordination among all institutions, systems and services that respond to victims, children, offenders and others who are impacted by domestic violence.
- Serve as a community forum on domestic violence and create a mechanism for identifying issues, concerns, needs and resources.
Goals
In the upcoming years, the DV Commission will focus on the following areas:
- Enhance the community response to children impacted by domestic violence.
- Conduct a formal fatality review of recent intimate partner homicides.
- Conduct a perpetrator systems review.
- Ensure follow-up on past DV Commission projects.
On-going Projects
In addition, the DV Commission will continue its on-going projects, including:
- Coordination of Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM).
- Compiling and publishing the Benchmark Report, considering the inclusion of additional benchmarks on an annual basis.
- Updating and publishing the Dating and Domestic Violence Resource Manual.
- Providing annual presentations to the City and County Councils of Whatcom County.
Tactics
Throughout this time period, all DV Commission projects will focus on the following tactics:
- Accomplishing systems change using the influence of DV Commission members.
- Providing high-level professional trainings and conferences.
- Raising community awareness, including collaborating with the media.
- Reporting out to local government on changes needed and accomplishments made.
- Ensuring consideration of cultural competency in all DV Commission projects.
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Posted on December 22, 2011 by Susan
Domestic Violence and Communities of Color
Recently, the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) released a quick fact sheet on Domestic Violence and Communities of Color. This fact sheet provides information about how and why communities of color experience domestic violence.
According to WSCADV:
People of all races and ethnicities experience domestic violence.
Research by the Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review found that Hispanic/Latina, African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Asian and Pacific Islander women are more than twice as likely to be murdered by an intimate partner than white women.
- This research does not tell us that people of color commit more domestic violence.
- It does tell us that women of color and Native women did not get the help they needed.
- Danger for victims of color and Native women was heightened by failures in the legal system and the lack of community services that were culturally relevant and accessible.
Source: Now that We Know: Findings and Recommendations from the Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review, 2008
Research shows that poverty rates are higher for people of color than for white people. This makes it harder to escape abuse. Survivors need things like affordable housing, childcare, and transportation.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, U.S. Census Bureau, 2007
A person’s immigration status has a huge impact on their options for safety.
- Fear of deportation deters people from turning to the police for help.
- Abusers use threats of deportation to control their partner.
- Deportation can have many serious consequences, like being separated from your children or having to return to a violent family.
Many places people turn to for help – like police, courts, and social service agencies – don’t regularly provide interpreters. This makes it impossible for people who speak limited English to get the help they need.
A history of police bias and violence against people of color discourages people from turning to the police for protection. This leaves communities with no good options for intervening with violent abusers.
Many communities simply have no culturally appropriate or culturally specific domestic violence services. When people don’t have a place to go where they feel understood and supported, it leaves them more vulnerable to an abuser’s control.
For more information, you can read WSCADV’s full 2008 Fatality Review report and WSCADV’s recent brief on immigrant and refugee victims of domestic violence homicide.
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Posted on December 13, 2011 by meaghan
The Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence is pleased to announce the release of Domestic Violence 2005-2010, with a separate report for each of the five small cities: City of Blaine, Cities of Everson-Nooksack, City of Ferndale, City of Lynden and City of Sumas. This is the DV Commission’s third report on domestic violence in the small cities.
Although there is variation by city, many of the domestic violence indicators across the criminal justice systems have been on the decline over the past several years. This reflects a similar decrease in the Whatcom County domestic violence per capita rate. Due to limitations related to data, the reasons for these declines are unclear.
In 2010, law enforcement agencies in the five small cities reported 196 domestic violence offenses and responded to 299 verbal domestics. In the same year, 176 domestic violence misdemeanor charges were resolved in the five small city municipal courts, and 28 domestic violence felony cases from the five small cities were filed by the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office.
The DV Commission hopes that you will find these reports informative and use them as a tool to inform policy and practice. In addition, please feel free to share these reports with your colleagues and other community members. All five reports can be found on the DV Commission’s website at www.dvcommission.org/resources.
Finally, the DV Commission extends its appreciation to the individuals and agencies that assisted in providing data in the enclosed report. If you have data you would like to include in future reports, please do not hesitate to email Sue Parrott or call 312-5700 x 203
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Posted on October 7, 2011 by Susan
On Thursday, October 6th, 2011, more than 125 people gathered on the lawn of the downtown Bellingham Public Library to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Those in attendance included a wide range of community members, including many survivors of domestic violence.
The Vigil was emcee’d by Bridget Cantrell, a local therapist who specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder. It opened and closed with acoustic music by the Leo Trio, and the group set the mood for an event marking a solemn issue in our community, and yet also helped set the tone for celebrating the strengths of those who survive, and of our community that is working to end domestic violence.
Then Charlene Casimir-George, a woman from the Lummi Nation, honored participants with a traditional Lummi prayer and prayer song, reminding us all that women are the givers of life and that gatherings to end violence against women are sacred.
Keynote speaker Melanie Springer talked about the strength inherent in each of us, giving us the ability to survive trauma including domestic violence, and to turn a struggle into an opportunity to be stronger.
The 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award was given to Deputy Lonnie Bauman from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, for his efforts both as a deputy and as a Domestic Violence Instructor to keep victims safe and to connect them to advocacy services in the community. He regularly refers victims both to Womencare Shelter and to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services.
The vigil then ended with the lighting of candles and standing in a circle of solidarity. The flames flickered in the twilight as participants reflected on the ways domestic violence has impacted either themselves, or someone they know. Kirsten Peterman-Dunya, the victim of a domestic violence homicide in 2011, was especially remembered.
After the vigil, people moved inside to participate in the Healing Labyrinth inside the library, walking their path to leave behind stresses and concerns and receive whatever it was they were looking for. This meditative walk brought a sense of peace and healing to those who participated.
In sum, the event was a huge success, and shows how much our community cares about stopping domestic violence. Please join us again next year.
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Posted on October 4, 2011 by Susan
The Domestic Violence Awareness Month Vigil & Healing Labyrinth are this Thursday, October 6th at 6:00 pm at the downtown Bellingham Public Library.
The theme of Domestic Violence Awareness Month is “The Solution is In Sight” – a focus on ways that we can reduce and prevent domestic violence. The Vigil will be a celebration of the strength of survivors in our community, as well as of our community’s commitment to stopping domestic violence.
The Vigil will take place on the Library Lawn, and the Labyrinth will take place in the Library’s community room.
The Vigil will feature music from the Leo Trio, a prayer and prayer song by Charlene Casimir-George from the Lummi Nation, a keynote speech by positive psychology counselor Melanie Springer, the presentation of the 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award, and the lighting of candles along with a moment of silence in memory of victims of domestic violence.
The Healing Labyrinth will be a meditative walk that will support participants in healing from domestic violence, either that they have experienced personally or as part of this community.
These events are hosted by the Domestic Violence Commission, and co-sponsored by Crime And Sexual Assault Services (CASAS), Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (DVSAS), Opportunity Council’s Dorothy Place, Lydia Place, Lummi Victims of Crime, Nooksack Victims of Crime, and YWCA Bellingham.
For more information on other DV Awareness Month Events, go to www.dvcommission.org/awareness.
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