The numbers don\u2019t lie. According to the most recent Alaska Victimization Survey, 47 percent of adult women in the City and Borough of Sitka have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both; seven percent in the past year.<\/p>\n
While these statistics may be sobering, the community\u2019s response is definitely heartening. For more than 40 years now, Sitkans Against Family Violence (SAFV) has been providing empowerment-based safety and advocacy for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, as well as promoting a culture of non-violence and respect.<\/p>\n
What began in 1976 as a crisis hotline has, over the course of four-plus decades, grown into a full-service shelter, serving survivors with secure, temporary living conditions, personal support, safety planning and access to a variety of services to rebuild safe lives on their own.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe help people through extremely tough situations,\u201d said Michelle Mahoney, SAFV Acting Director.<\/p>\n
SAFV\u2019s shelter, with a capacity of 24 women and children, consists of six bedrooms \u2014 outfitted with closets, storage and bedding \u2014 bathrooms, lockers, a full kitchen, two communal living rooms, a laundry room and a children\u2019s playroom. Of course, SAFV supplies its residents with food, basic toiletries and towels, detergent, baby needs, children\u2019s toys, books and art materials.<\/p>\n
In addition to shelter, SAFV offers victims crisis intervention, advocacy and support; legal advocacy, information and referral; and systems advocacy, which can include medical services, social services, mental health, housing, public assistance and other organizations.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur staff members include well-trained advocates, especially adept at navigating the legal and healthcare systems,\u201d Mahoney said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerpetrators leave their victims feeling isolated and devastated,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt\u2019s so rewarding to connect them with whatever resources they need to restore their confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Based in Sitka, SAFV also serves the surrounding communities of Port Alexander, Kake and Angoon, supplying safe homes, advocacy trainings, educational presentations and other forms of rural outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur advocates practice culturally relevant, trauma-informed advocacy,\u201d Mahoney said.<\/p>\n
Indeed, SAFV works closely with both the Alaska Native and LGBT communities. And in keeping with its ethos of inclusivity, SAFV will also assist male victims in finding safe housing, along with offering them advocacy and supportive services.<\/p>\n
\u201cMen experience domestic violence and sexual abuse, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Of course, SAFV\u2019s work doesn\u2019t end with shelter and advocacy. The organization also runs a substantial prevention program, geared toward stopping violence before it starts.<\/p>\n
To that end, SAFV coordinates a variety of educational initiatives in conjunction with the public schools. This includes safety seminars in every grade, kindergarten through 12th, as well as Girls on the Run and Boys Run I toow\u00fa klatseenafter school programs for third, fourth and fifth graders, and Coaching Boys into Men, which incorporates a curriculum of respect and violence prevention into high school athletics.<\/p>\n
For the community at large, SAFV conducts annual advocacy trainings and hosts a variety of public conversations. Its DV Task Force \u2014 which, besides SAFV, includes members from the Sitka Public Health Center, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, the District Attorney\u2019s office, the Sitka Police Department, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARCH) and Sitka Community Hospital\u2014meets monthly to exchange information and collaborate on events to further violence prevention. And, for the past six years, SAFV has organized Sitka\u2019s annual \u201cChoose Respect\u201d March, in which hundreds of community members come together to take a stand against domestic violence and sexual abuse.<\/p>\n
If that sounds ambitious, it is \u2014 and it couldn\u2019t happen without incredible outside support.<\/p>\n
For one, SAFV relies heavily on its volunteers \u2014 a diverse array of old and young, representing various abilities, socioeconomic levels and ethnicities. Volunteers donate an average of 1050 hours per year, answering the crisis hotline, assisting with direct advocacy, providing childcare and helping with fundraising, special events, youth-based programs, safe homes and shelter maintenance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so supported and we\u2019re so grateful,\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cSmaller communities really do pull together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like most nonprofits, SAFV depends on state funding, which, in recent years, has become less reliable. This complicates planning, especially when it comes to budgeting.<\/p>\n
Here, again, explained Mahoney, the people of Sitka also step up, donating money, in-kind services, food, bedding and other basic needs. So, too, do many area non-profits \u2014 organizations like the United Way of Southeast Alaska, whose Community Impact Grant funds all manner of shelter supplies and program materials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United Way is a long-time SAFV partner,\u201d she said. \u201cSuch a recognizable organization opens doors to resources we otherwise might not be able to access.\u201d<\/p>\n
And accessing resources will take on special importance in the not-too-distant future, as SAFV finalizes plans and begins construction to enlarge the shelter.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore room means more privacy and more privacy means more dignity,\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cThat will make our shelter an even better place for healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA Place for Healing: Sitkans Against Family Violence\u201d appears courtesy of United Way of Southeast Alaska as part of a project profiling the achievements of its Community Impact Grant Recipients. To learn more about \u201cLiving United,\u201d the United Way of Southeast Alaska or any of its partner agencies visit www.unitedwayseak.org.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 Geoff Kirsch is a freelance writer living in Juneau.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The numbers don\u2019t lie. According to the most recent Alaska Victimization Survey, 47 percent of adult women in the City and Borough of Sitka have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both; seven percent in the past year. While these statistics may be sobering, the community\u2019s response is definitely heartening. For more than 40 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":3825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-3824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3824"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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