SAFV celebrates Domestic Violence Awareness Month

by Rhonda Swain

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Sublette County Sexual Assault and Family Violence Task Force has planned an open house and is sponsoring an introductory class to self defense. The open house will be held Wednesday, Oct. 15, while self-defense classes are scheduled for each end of the county: Thursday and Friday, Oct. 16 and 17, at the Pinedale Fire Hall, and Oct. 23 and 24 at the Marbleton Sheriff's Department office. The classes are from 6 to 8 p.m. and are free of charge. Call 367-6305 or 276-3975 for more information.

According to SAFV Director Robin Clover, the open house will feature the Silent Witness Silhouettes, which include three Sublette County women.

SAFV offers a variety of services, including a 24-hour crisis hotline (1-888-301-4435), emergency shelter, family violence protection order assistance, counseling and emotional support, compensation, a lending library and research materials, educational programs, training, life skills training and relocation.

Clover said relocation includes hiring a cab for transport to the Rock Springs SAFV facility and help with bus fare or rental of a U-Haul. The educational programs are presented at county schools as well as at the annual luncheon SAFV holds each spring.

According to Clover, SAFV contracts with therapist Dayle Reed Hudson for its home-based family services program, which serviced more than the anticipated 12 to 15 families the past year.

This program's mission is to prevent the cycle of family violence by empowering families to provide adequate and safe care for children by identifying their strengths, helping find solutions and encouraging self-reliance. Clover said the program is not limited to SAFV clients, but those high-risk families interested must be referred to the program, and qualify for the help.

The family service is a short-term, intensive program designed to promote family stability. It provides strength-based family therapy, psychoeducation and skill building (parenting skills, child development, communication, problem solving and relationship building), hard services, crisis intervention and advocacy and collaboration with community agencies.

Following its introduction to Sublette County in October of 1999, the program evaluation efforts demonstrated that 89 percent of families avoided recidivisim, 87 percent increased family function levels and 100 percent of the families rated the home-based program as an excellent therapeutic service. The program targets high-risk families that have previously been unable or unwilling to access traditional clinical services.

SAFV also sponsors a women's support group on Wednesdays in Big Piney at noon, and Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in Pinedale. Call SAFV at 367-6305 or 276-3975 for locations.

SAFV, a non-profit entity governed by a board of directors, follows state standards for the operation of domestic violence shelter programs. Funding for the program comes from federal grants; state, county and city money; private donations; fundraising; and private, state and federal grants. Seventy-six percent of the funds go to direct supports of clients while 24 percent is tagged for administration (rent, telephone, insurance, office expenses and part of the director salary).

There are 25 SAFV programs in Wyoming, one in each county as well as the Native American reservations, funded in part by the state legislature as part of the governor's budget with $850,000 per year.