October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and two upcoming events in the community are being organized as a way to boost visibility about the prevalence – and the local services that are available for those who may need help to get out of an abusive situation.
Bratanya Simmons and Vanessa Henderson work with Infinite Possibilities, Inc. and they spoke with Bill Harris on Monday’s Town Talk about a walk that will take place at Aycock Rec Center on Saturday, Oct. 1 and a candlelight vigil planned in Warrenton on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
Simmons and Henderson invite walkers to take place in the second annual awareness walk, which will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the track at the recreational complex, 307 Carey Chapel Rd., Henderson.
“Bring your walking shoes and take laps,” Simmons said. “There will be a t-shirt this year for all participants for coming out and supporting and honoring domestic violence victims.”
The candlelight vigil will take place at the Warren County courthouse square from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Speakers for the event will include representatives from the Warrenton Police Department and the department of social services. “We’re asking everyone to come out…and light a candle for those who have lost their lives to domestic violence,” Simmons said.
Henderson added that domestic violence cuts across all socio-economic categories, and both men and women can be perpetrators as well as victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
As with so many other aspects of our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic created additional challenges for victims, as well as for those agencies like Infinite Possibilities which try to find helpful resources.
Simmons said she has seen an uptick in the number of people who contact Infinite Possibilities for help. “Victims were home 24/7 with their abusers and perpetrators” during the COVID lockdown. But the pandemic also created additional hurdles as far as finding resources for victims, too, Henderson said.
“Not only was the pandemic bad on the victims but on the support systems for those victims were eliminated due to the lockdowns and not being able to access family and friends,” she said. The COVID lockdown affected the mental health of domestic violence survivors as well, she added.
It was also difficult to find shelters to accept victims who lived outside the county where the shelter was located.
Neither Vance County nor Warren County has an emergency shelter, and although the women have heard rumblings about the need for a shelter in the area, they said they were unaware of further plans.
Currently, they use shelters in Franklin, Durham and Wake counties.
“A shelter is needed in the area for domestic violence victims,” Simmons said.
Some basic needs are met through different organizations and referral services, but Henderson said there is a need for more.
So often, victims of domestic violence reach out to organizations like Infinite Possibilities without having a clear idea of what it is they want or need, so Simmons said it’s important to ask them specifically what they would like to have happen: is it going to an emergency shelter or is it having a restraining order in place?
They may not know how to ask for a protection order, or what kind of order they need. It takes, on average, “ seven times for victims to decide they are ready to move on and go through the court process,” Simmons explained. Organizations like Infinite Possibilities walk victims through the process.
But, Henderson added, they adhere to a strict confidentiality policy to provide safety for the victims, “ so their information is not released to anyone who could possibly put them in danger.”
The crisis line is available 24 hours a day and accepts calls and text messages. That number is 252.425.2492. The phone number for the office, located at Gateway Center, is 252.431.1926.
The number for Simmons is 252.257.1044.
Learn more at https://infinitepossibilitiesinc.net/
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