Domestic Violence Solutions

 

What is the Domestic Violence Solutions Committee?

 

The Domestic Violence Solutions Committee of the Rotary Club of Portland is dedicated to raising community awareness of the extent, seriousness, and cost of domestic violence in Portland and the rest of the U.S.; providing support and resources to agencies serving victims and perpetrators of domestic violence; and working to prevent domestic violence.
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Download your Domestic Violence Solutions Pledge by clicking HERE.

 

Download your Domestic Violence Solutions Resource Kit by clicking HERE.

 

 

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Why Rotarians Should Pay Attention to Domestic Violence

 

Peace Starts at Home

 

More than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the U.S. are physically, emotionally, or sexually abused in their lifetime. Domestic violence affects people of all ages, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation. You have already come into contact with numerous survivors of abuse. They are all around you.

 

There are things we can do as Rotarians to help reduce violence. We are leaders in our communities and we can help.

 

If you are in crisis, please call:                                                                               

The National DV Hotline: 1.800.799.SAFE                 

The Portland Women’s Crisis Line: 503.235.5333  

 

Resource List: Click Here

 

       Projects

 

 

 Connect with Domestic Violence Organizations

 

  • Meet with or invite to lunch the Executive Directors of the domestic violence organizations in your area to discuss the current needs of their organization. Your club might be able to help with some of these needs.
  • Form a work party with volunteers from your Club to help remodel, repair, or garden at the local shelters. Your Club can get on the volunteer list at the local shelters so they know to contact you when a project arises.
  • Collect items needed by the domestic violence organizations in your area. Announce to the club that you will be collecting cell phones, linens, towels, or gift cards and give them to the organizations that need them.
  • Gather Club volunteers to cook and serve dinner to residents in the local domestic violence shelters.
  • Purchase bus tickets, food vouchers, or motel vouchers to help survivors on domestic violence.
  • Attend fundraising events for the domestic violence organizations in your area.

 

 

 Bring Domestic Violence Speakers to your Club

 

The Rotary Club of Portland would love to help you find speakers to present on the issue of domestic violence. Some topics we have found interesting include:

 

  • The types of abuse and the scope of the problem
  • Having survivors tell their stories
  • What is your local government doing to help prevent abuse?
  • Financial abuse and how survivors can get back on their feet once they leave

 

Most organizations in the Oregon have an outreach employee whose job is to speak to Clubs such as ours. We can connect you, or you can call the Gateway Center for a list of organizations in your area: 503.988.6400

 

 

 Take it public

 

Let your community know that your Club is working to decrease the effects of domestic violence by supporting local domestic violence organizations. Some ways to go public include:

 

  • A billboard that demonstrates the impact of violence
  • Flyers around town about where to go for help
  • Public events that raise money or awareness for domestic violence
  • Press releases, articles, blogs, online publications about what your Club is doing and why

 


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Story Spotlight



Since budgets are cut so tightly at domestic violence shelters, transportation is often left out—not to mention that transportation is one of the biggest budget items not covered by the county or state. As one can imagine, a majority of the participants served do not have their own car or funds available to them to be able to pay for bus fare on their own. 


Bus tickets are important. Participants generally have only a short two-month stay to be able to get all of the needed documents to apply for housing, get their children into school, attend various appointments and meetings, apply for jobs—yet they are often expected to do all of this without the financial resources to get around. To respond to this need, in 2010, the Rotary Club of Portland Domestic Violence Solutions Committee donated bus tickets to four domestic violence organizations in Portland, including Raphael House, YWCA Yolanda House, Bradley Angle, and the Salvation Army West Women and Children’s Shelter. Here are just a few examples of how these bus tickets have helped participants in domestic violence shelters:
 

“We had a mom come to our shelter who wanted to maintain some level of consistency in her child's life by allowing him to still go to the same school. The school was unfortunately a bus ride away and she had no way to pay for the tickets. During the time that our Youth Program advocates were trying to get her a bus pass from another program and we were able to give her free bus tickets to get her son to school.  This provided a much-needed level of security and consistency that both the mother and child were looking for.”– Raphael House
 

“Lucia was terrified to leave the house when she first entered shelter, but as time went by she gained confidence. She also recognized the importance of taking her daughters to regular counseling to deal with the abuse they'd witnessed. Even though she only spoke Spanish and did not read or write in any language, she began using the bus system to take her daughters to the counseling they needed. Our bus tickets allowed that progress to happen.”– Yolanda House
 

“Cathy is a high-risk pregnancy and needs to be able to access her medical appointments consistently. Our bus tickets allow her to keep up with her frequent medical appointments and ensure the health of her unborn twins.”– Yolanda House
 

“We had a woman in shelter who needed to get to a mandatory court appointment, and neither of our agency vehicles were available to take her. We were able to provide her with a bus ticket to get to her court appointment.” – Raphael House
 

 

What have we done?

 

Some of the accomplishments of the committee include:

  1. Designing, producing, and distributing a Domestic Violence Resource Kit for Portland area employers.
  2. Collecting used cell phones for use by victims of Domestic Violence in emergencies. They can be used to call 911 even without a cell phone account. Surplus phones are sold for parts, with the proceeds going to women’s shelters.
  3. Sponsoring presentations on domestic violence to the Rotary Club of Portland, and speaking to other area clubs to heighten awareness of the problem.
  4. Providing grants to local domestic violence shelters, such as Bradley Angle and Raphael House.


 

What can you do?

 

If you would like to volunteer or financially support efforts at these shelters, please contact the Rotary office at 503.228.1542.

You can also support local domestic violence resource organizations, such as::
 

Bradley Angle

Raphael House of Portland

Other Community Domestic Violence Resources