Office of Community Advocacy                      Domestic Violence 
                                                                                Month Activites
This office provides:
Domestic Violence services to individuals and groups.
Direct service to victims and survivors in the community.
Development of inter-agency cooperation to respond to complex cases.
Identification of barriers to victim's safety.
Assistance, direction and guidance to coordinating organizations at the local and state level regarding the needs of domestic violence victims in the City of Tacoma.
Training regarding the dynamics of Domestic Violence.

Please feel free to contact me at (253) 591-5164, TTY (253) 591-5153, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., if you have any questions, I look forward to working with each of you on this very important issue.

G. China Fortson, Domestic Violence Project Specialist
747 Market Street, Room 836
Tacoma, WA 98402

Getting Safe    Breaking the Cycle of Abuse with the Cycle of Responsibility.
Instead of continuing in the cycle of abuse, more and more women are succeeding with the Cycle of Personal Responsibility, outlined here:

Awareness    Become aware of the problem          General Statistics

Emergency Shelter Resources

Legal Resources

Housing Resources

Monetary Resources

Food Resources

Help Lines/Hotlines

Support Groups & Advocacy Services

 

 

 

Plan        Make a plan

Do it!       Carry out the plan 

Succeed!      

If you are being abused and want to get safe:

• Develop a safety plan
• Save money in a secret place
• Hide social security cards, birth certificates, checks and/or bank cards in your secret place
• Have an extra set of car keys made and hide in your secret place
• Document your injuries, use a journal and/or take photographs
• Ask for help! Call for an advocate or tell a friend of your plans and ask for help

Helping a friend who is in an abusive relationship

• Be non-judgmental
• Be a good listener, and ask questions that aren't threatening
• Be careful
• Remember that the abuser may be monitoring the victim's phone calls and activities. The abuser may be listening from another room, or checking the victim's mail. Be careful not to say or do anything that might result in the victim being injured
• Offer unconditional support
• Typically, victims in domestic violence relationships return to their abusers an average of seven times before leaving permanently. Let him or her know that you will help when and if you're asked, no matter what.
• Become informed
• Learn all you can about domestic violence. Gather a list of shelters, agencies and professionals that can help the victim when he or she is ready.
• Encourage the victim to document injuries
• Urge the victim to seek medical attention if he or she has been injured, and to be honest with the medical staff about the injuries. Encourage the victim to take pictures of the injuries and gather other evidence in case he  or she needs it at a later date.