CYAF 493/893 Guest Speaker: Sue Andersen

Keith McGuffey (Uploader) Author

03/30/2016 Added

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CYAF 493/893 Guest Speaker: Sue Andersen from Voices of Hope

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[00:00:00.471]So, we're back.
[00:00:01.733]And before spring break, we were talking about
[00:00:05.914]intimate partner violence in various different settings.
[00:00:09.648]So we're gonna continue that conversation today,
[00:00:11.996]and with us we have Sue Anderson from Voices of Hope.
[00:00:16.039]She's gonna talk with you a little bit about
[00:00:18.150]her organization, and the services that they provide.
[00:00:20.849]She is a victim advocate with Voices of Hope,
[00:00:24.027]and so she'll also talk to you a little bit about
[00:00:25.723]some of her experiences, working with victims,
[00:00:29.296]and her understanding.
[00:00:30.992]This is another good opportunity for you to ask questions
[00:00:34.299]directly to a practitioner.
[00:00:36.112]Someone working in the field just as we did
[00:00:38.640]in our child maltreatment unit.
[00:00:40.474]So if you could put away all computers, tablets, et cetera.
[00:00:43.215]If you want to take notes,
[00:00:44.143]go ahead and do it with paper and pencil,
[00:00:45.466]the old-fashioned way.
[00:00:46.629]And let's give her our full attention, okay?
[00:00:49.370]Are there any questions before we get started?
[00:00:55.172]Okay.
[00:00:58.355]Good morning.
[00:00:59.997]Like Alana said, my name's Sue Anderson.
[00:01:02.160]I'm the community education coordinator,
[00:01:03.696]but also an advocate of Voices of Hope.
[00:01:07.683]For me, what that means is that I have the best job
[00:01:09.803]of anyone there, because I get to come out
[00:01:11.798]and talk about the agency, and the issues that we work with
[00:01:14.230]and meet folks like you.
[00:01:16.374]And the other part of my job
[00:01:17.600]is that we provide direct service.
[00:01:19.574]So having the honor and the opportunity
[00:01:22.135]to provide services to people who had experienced
[00:01:24.268]relationship violence, sexual assault,
[00:01:26.913]incest, stalking, and other forms of abuse.
[00:01:29.632]Our services though, are also for significant others,
[00:01:32.082]and (speech drowned out by ambient noise).
[00:01:33.570]That means a lot of us at some point
[00:01:35.421]could be using the services.
[00:01:39.208]I would welcome any questions or comments
[00:01:41.319]as we go along, so back and forth here.
[00:01:44.914]But kind of what I'm gonna talk about.
[00:01:46.332]Just gonna talk a little bit about
[00:01:47.890]the services that we provide, and I did bring brochures,
[00:01:50.215]so I won't spend a lot of time on that.
[00:01:53.615]Gonna talk about what advocacy is for us
[00:01:56.473]as domestic violence, sexual assault advocates,
[00:01:58.862]so what that looks like for us.
[00:02:01.902]I brought some information about protection orders,
[00:02:03.927]the different kind of protection orders,
[00:02:05.680]'cause that's one of the common things
[00:02:07.079]that we help people with.
[00:02:08.796]And then a little bit about safety planning,
[00:02:10.950]and what that looks like for us,
[00:02:13.393]again as domestic violence, sexual assault boundaries,
[00:02:15.995]so we go through that (mumbling) this morning.
[00:02:22.282]Just a basic, so you have kind of an idea
[00:02:24.888]about the vision of Voices of Hope.
[00:02:27.096]Voices of Hope is the domestic violence,
[00:02:28.738]sexual assault services program
[00:02:30.509]that serves Lincoln and Lancaster County.
[00:02:33.378]We're a part of a network of programs across the state,
[00:02:36.396]so 21 sister programs across the state.
[00:02:38.956]So every county is served by a similar organization,
[00:02:42.252]with different names.
[00:02:44.638]And then part of the national network,
[00:02:46.404]and then an international network
[00:02:47.919]of domestic violence and sexual assault programs.
[00:02:50.724]So our agency Voices of Hope began many years ago,
[00:02:54.510]over 40 years ago on the University of Nebraska campus,
[00:02:57.507]so it's always nice to kind of come full-circle,
[00:03:01.407]and come back to campus.
[00:03:02.651]But we began with a handful of women
[00:03:04.987]who got together to help other women
[00:03:07.265]deal with the aftermath of being victims
[00:03:09.059]of sexual assault on campus.
[00:03:11.352]So they utilized the existing personal crisis line
[00:03:14.307]to answer questions of what they thought
[00:03:16.210]would be specifically about sexual assault,
[00:03:18.951]and discovered very early on
[00:03:20.327]that people were also calling in
[00:03:21.809]and talking about domestic violence,
[00:03:23.825]intimate partner violence.
[00:03:26.705]So made the connection early on
[00:03:28.006]about the types of violence
[00:03:29.211]that women and children were experiencing.
[00:03:32.070]We then were called the Rape Crisis Center
[00:03:35.184]for a period of time, and then in 1978,
[00:03:37.552]received funding to include victims of domestic violence,
[00:03:40.869]and that's when the agency became
[00:03:42.544]the Rape Spouse Abuse Crisis Center.
[00:03:44.869]It was called that for a long time.
[00:03:47.045]We're a part of family services association.
[00:03:49.349]When I first joined the agency in 1988,
[00:03:51.898]we were one of the umbrella agencies of family services.
[00:03:55.474]It had always been the hope and the dream
[00:03:58.833]of the founding mothers of the agency
[00:04:01.575]that (speech drowned out by ambient noise)
[00:04:02.669]become a very model of what they believed in,
[00:04:04.735]so in 1989 we left family services,
[00:04:07.815]and became a non-profit agency.
[00:04:11.463]Then in 2007, retained our name Voices of Hope.
[00:04:14.492]So I wasn't planning on giving you a lot of history,
[00:04:16.465]but sometimes when I'm back on campus
[00:04:18.635]it brings that back up.
[00:04:19.983]So, we changed our name to Voices of Hope really after,
[00:04:24.656]I would say, listening with bigger and better ears
[00:04:27.023]to the community.
[00:04:28.228]So the Rape Spouse Abuse Crisis Center
[00:04:30.714]was a good name for awhile, and then it wasn't.
[00:04:33.775]It became very limiting.
[00:04:35.247]So, I don't identify what happened to me as rape.
[00:04:37.934]Or I'm not married to the person
[00:04:39.161]who's sexually assaulting me, or abusing me.
[00:04:41.369]Or I'm in a same sex relationship.
[00:04:43.438]So it really, as we listened differently,
[00:04:46.435]we realized that it wasn't an accurate description
[00:04:48.803]of what we were doing, and so we held focus groups,
[00:04:53.644]and really listened to clients and community members
[00:04:56.398]and former clients, and came up with the name
[00:04:58.329]of Voices of Hope in 2007.
[00:05:03.275]Our services include a 24-hour crisis line,
[00:05:06.525]so there will be a voice at the end of that crisis line.
[00:05:10.930]As a paid staff, we are a very small staff.
[00:05:13.891]There's about 17 full-time employees,
[00:05:16.888]and so the heart and soul of our agency is volunteers.
[00:05:20.621]So, I know you're all busy, and you've all just had
[00:05:22.872]a great spring break, but if ever you have the need
[00:05:25.762]or the desire for internship or volunteer sometimes,
[00:05:30.338]that's really how we continue to provide the services
[00:05:33.538]to the community.
[00:05:35.095]So our crisis line operates all the time.
[00:05:37.879]And folks who are helping us do volunteer work
[00:05:40.406]on the crisis line, complete about a 32 to 35-hour training
[00:05:44.630]that we provide three times a year.
[00:05:46.741]The next training will be happening in May.
[00:05:50.976]We also then provide advocacy.
[00:05:52.864]As the slide says, that means that we accompany victims
[00:05:56.927]of sexual assault and domestic violence
[00:05:58.442]kind of through the criminal justice system,
[00:06:00.436]if that's what they're wanting.
[00:06:02.036]We also are part of the sexual assault response team
[00:06:04.543]at all of the Lincoln hospitals.
[00:06:06.164]So if I'm on call, and I get a call
[00:06:08.884]from the emergency department,
[00:06:10.398]that there's someone who's walked in
[00:06:12.137]and reported being a victim of sexual assault,
[00:06:15.113]that sets in motion a protocol to contact the SANE,
[00:06:19.102]or the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
[00:06:21.075]to contact law enforcement, and to contact
[00:06:23.347]an advocate from Voices of Hope.
[00:06:25.672]We have done a minute response time
[00:06:27.368]of 20 to 30 minutes after receiving those calls
[00:06:29.875]and going to the hospital emergency room.
[00:06:32.637]Now if I get there and the person says no,
[00:06:34.909]I don't want to talk to you, mind your own business,
[00:06:36.914]changed my mind, of course we respect that.
[00:06:40.583]I often think a lot of the work though
[00:06:42.586]that we're doing is planting that seed.
[00:06:44.677]So I'm gonna be able to provide a brochure
[00:06:46.469]and provide these great right hands
[00:06:49.413]that have our address and our website on it.
[00:06:52.410]We really make that personal connection with people,
[00:06:57.103]and then hope that they'll reach out to us
[00:07:00.603]when it's safe for them to do so.
[00:07:05.947]There're also the criminal, or the response at the hospitals
[00:07:08.571]all of our Lincoln hospitals do it,
[00:07:10.469]an in talk partner violence screening.
[00:07:12.974]And the emergency department for all females
[00:07:14.713]14 years of age and older who go to the emergency room
[00:07:18.222]for any reason, they should ask you questions
[00:07:20.334]about intimate partner violence, and domestic violence.
[00:07:23.381]When that's done, he visits a single major cause of injury
[00:07:26.137]to women, and so we know that often times
[00:07:28.708]those first responders and emergency departments
[00:07:30.969]are in a really good position to ask the questions.
[00:07:34.094]We also know that just because somebody asks,
[00:07:36.099]it doesn't mean somebody's gonna disclose.
[00:07:38.350]But if it's done consistently, and in a caring manner,
[00:07:43.436]and they look around and there's brochures or posters,
[00:07:46.245]you know that eventually someone will talk about it
[00:07:49.061]'cause (mumbling) experiences.
[00:07:51.610]We then do short-term crisis counseling.
[00:07:53.583]We're not a health agency, we're not doing evaluations,
[00:07:56.996]or therapy.
[00:07:59.884]It's very focused on crisis advocacy,
[00:08:02.448]and crisis intervention.
[00:08:04.186]And if you would ask each of us,
[00:08:05.445]we'd have a different scenario or definition
[00:08:07.909]of exactly what that means.
[00:08:09.647]So it's really meeting people where they are,
[00:08:12.900]listening is a huge part of what we do,
[00:08:15.354]and then going forward (mumbling).
[00:08:19.695]We have groups.
[00:08:20.932]I should back up and say all of our services
[00:08:22.575]are free, confidential.
[00:08:24.921]All of our services are for both men and women.
[00:08:28.526]The reality is the majority of our clients
[00:08:30.403]are women and children.
[00:08:32.782]Our groups are for women only,
[00:08:34.264]that we only service those for women only.
[00:08:36.963]So we do have a domestic violence group,
[00:08:39.149]a sexual assault group.
[00:08:41.145]We have a group that's done in Spanish
[00:08:43.201]in conjunction with El Centro de Las Americas.
[00:08:46.586]We're in the process of starting up
[00:08:48.047]our phenomenal women group,
[00:08:49.551]which is behalf of African-American women.
[00:08:52.068]And then we periodically throughout the year
[00:08:53.530]do some kind of classes.
[00:08:55.055]So these are all support groups.
[00:08:56.772]Front man support groups that I'm talking about,
[00:08:59.215]but then we may do like a five-week writing group,
[00:09:01.977]or a five-week art fair, that type of thing.
[00:09:06.361]We do then help with filling out protection orders
[00:09:08.942]on a pretty regular basis.
[00:09:10.286]As I left, one of my colleagues was helping someone do that.
[00:09:14.403]Then we do a lot of the coming out,
[00:09:16.261]as I'm doing this morning speaking to the community
[00:09:18.511]about the services and issues that we (mumbling).
[00:09:21.934]A lot of our prevention programs that I've listed up here
[00:09:24.995]are done with middle school and high school students.
[00:09:27.971]So we're great at the crisis intervention,
[00:09:30.360]but we know that prevention is really kind of where it's at,
[00:09:34.222]and where we can work our way out of a job, hopefully.
[00:09:38.249]I have some colleagues who do a lot of
[00:09:40.963]healthy relationship talks with middle school, high school,
[00:09:43.683]with adolescent (mumbling).
[00:09:47.235]And then I always what you to be aware
[00:09:49.208]of what services are available with our
[00:09:52.059]victim advocate on campus.
[00:09:54.987]Spends part of her time in the Women's Center,
[00:09:57.642]guess (speech drowned out by ambient noise) there, so.
[00:10:01.510]Any questions to ask about our services,
[00:10:04.059]or the kind of services that we provide?
[00:10:08.043]Yeah.
[00:10:08.807](mumbling)
[00:10:10.786]At this point we don't have (mumbling).
[00:10:12.937]We are always willing to, and it's kind of like
[00:10:17.177]if you build it, they will come,
[00:10:18.700]and we don't have any support groups right now for them.
[00:10:22.490]I think those are really difficult to hone,
[00:10:25.026]is my understanding, so in the past we've done
[00:10:29.581]maybe like several hour workshops,
[00:10:32.047]or male partners of, so significant others
[00:10:36.143]of adult survivors of childhood sexual assault
[00:10:39.066]and (mumbling) but no on-going support groups right now.
[00:10:42.521]At least that Voices of Hope (mumbling).
[00:10:45.007]But the individual crisis intervention hotline (mumbling).
[00:10:54.423]Whenever I talk about domestic violence and sexual assault,
[00:10:56.738]I want to start with this slide 'cause I think it's true.
[00:11:00.578]That we blame the victim 'cause it's an easy way out.
[00:11:03.404]If we do otherwise, we may have to take a hard look
[00:11:05.761]at how we do business.
[00:11:07.617]So that's kind of my food for thought.
[00:11:09.473]You know, as we go through, or as you think about
[00:11:11.169]these issues of domestic violence and sexual assault,
[00:11:14.091]it's real easy to go down that road.
[00:11:16.992]Why doesn't she leave?
[00:11:18.272]You know, why was she dressed that way?
[00:11:20.854]And it's much more difficult
[00:11:22.775]to hold perpetrators accountable.
[00:11:25.259]That's also what they're counting on.
[00:11:28.002]Perpetrators of this kind of violence are counting on this,
[00:11:30.860]focusing on victim and victim behavior,
[00:11:32.892]rather than on them.
[00:11:37.324]Kind of a note on the language
[00:11:38.934]that I've already started to use,
[00:11:40.469]but we know that men and boys are most likely
[00:11:42.443]to be the perpetrators, while women and girls
[00:11:44.299]are more likely to be the victims of domestic violence.
[00:11:47.829]While women and girls are abusive and violent
[00:11:50.101]to their male partners, it's estimated
[00:11:51.914]to be around five percent, or fewer.
[00:11:55.341]Most men are not abusers, but most abusers are men.
[00:12:01.067]So that I think is a very important distinction.
[00:12:03.946]Again, when my colleagues go to middle schools
[00:12:06.314]and high schools, this is a point that they
[00:12:08.543]kind of jump up and down, and say over and over again
[00:12:11.701]because they think that's really important to hear.
[00:12:13.770]Never wanting that kid sitting in the back of the room
[00:12:16.170]saying, I'm a guy, this is what I'm supposed to do,
[00:12:18.975]or this is what I have to do.
[00:12:21.862]With the statistics we see, the clients that we see,
[00:12:25.483]again as I said that means working with women and children,
[00:12:27.691]and a smaller percentage of males
[00:12:30.373]that we're providing services to.
[00:12:34.226]When we talk specifically about domestic violence,
[00:12:37.401]or that kind of abuse, we know that it's very purposeful,
[00:12:40.676]very deliberate.
[00:12:41.604]I'm sure you've been talking about this in your class,
[00:12:44.366]that it is based on attitudes, and values, and beliefs,
[00:12:48.014]and the goal is to establish control in a relationship,
[00:12:51.630]and then maintain that.
[00:12:53.603]A quote at the bottom there is from Lundy Bancroft,
[00:12:56.397]who's written several books,
[00:12:57.667]and one of them is called Why Does He Do That?
[00:13:00.344]He says that abuse grows from attitudes and values.
[00:13:04.247]The roots are ownership, the trunk is entitlement,
[00:13:07.287]and the branches are control.
[00:13:09.730]I think you can kinda see, and get a visual picture
[00:13:11.980]of what is happening.
[00:13:17.497]Questions about any of that?
[00:13:20.961]I'm gonna talk a little bit about our advocacy,
[00:13:22.849]and what that looks like, and if you do have questions
[00:13:24.887]kind of about the day-to-day, please feel free to ask.
[00:13:28.303]I always like to include this slide,
[00:13:30.699]and if you were all gonna be joining us
[00:13:32.079]in the advocacy group, we talk about this.
[00:13:34.750]Working with violence is hard.
[00:13:36.816]So just kind of that day-to-day exposure
[00:13:39.771]to the stories that we hear, we know that it takes a toll.
[00:13:44.426]But there are limited resources for the work that we do,
[00:13:47.338]so financial resources sometimes.
[00:13:50.122]Those are the needs that the clients that we're serving.
[00:13:52.577]They may need just maybe that tank of gas to get to safety,
[00:13:55.670]or I need my locks changed, or my door got broken
[00:13:58.241]and I need help fixing that.
[00:14:00.011]There's really limited resources, unfortunately.
[00:14:03.819]This work can, and does trigger your own issues, and past.
[00:14:07.884]I think people come to do this kind of work
[00:14:10.444]with lots of lived experiences, and lots of reasons,
[00:14:13.644]so it's not a job, and it's a way of life.
[00:14:18.315]So when I do training for our new staff,
[00:14:20.075]new volunteers, new interns.
[00:14:22.520]It's like once you know this, you can't not know it, right?
[00:14:26.023]You're sitting in this class, now you know this stuff.
[00:14:28.807]You can't not know it anymore.
[00:14:30.759]And so, what do you do with that?
[00:14:32.433]How do you take care of yourself?
[00:14:35.260]We don't always spend a lot of time at our agency
[00:14:37.937]focusing on self-care, and kind of rejuvenating,
[00:14:43.110]and taking care of ourselves
[00:14:44.902]because we're so busy with kind of
[00:14:46.320]that day-to-day crisis intervention (mumbling).
[00:14:50.192]One of the things that we do at Voices of Hope
[00:14:52.293]is every once in a while our director believes in self-care,
[00:14:55.771]so next week we're gonna have a shut-in.
[00:14:58.234]So for a couple of days, we won't be seeing
[00:15:01.232]our individual crisis counsel clients,
[00:15:03.759]and we won't be having our groups.
[00:15:05.231]Of course our crisis line will still operate,
[00:15:07.279]and are going to hospital.
[00:15:10.458]You know, those kind of services.
[00:15:11.919]But we'll really focus on, some of it's catching up
[00:15:14.521]on paperwork, some of it is great food
[00:15:17.071]that gets brought in for lunch.
[00:15:19.804]And just doing some kind of passion fatigue exercises,
[00:15:24.039]focusing and being reminded of our strengths.
[00:15:26.594]We've all taken the strengths finder.
[00:15:28.802]So that's kind of what we do, we're trying to (mumbling).
[00:15:35.863]The empowerment wheel, and I'm sure some of you have seen
[00:15:37.847]the power control wheel, and the equality wheel
[00:15:41.311]in your studies of intimate partner violence.
[00:15:43.332]But the empowerment through advocacy wheel
[00:15:46.489]is kind of what we're trying to do when we talk about
[00:15:48.974]providing advocacy to victims of survivors
[00:15:51.556]of domestic and sexual violence.
[00:15:54.275]I know when I, I've been doing
[00:15:55.700]this work for quite a long time.
[00:15:57.460]For 28 years, and I remember part of my interview process.
[00:16:01.664]One of the questions I was asked is,
[00:16:03.753]you know, what is an advocate?
[00:16:05.566]And that's hard kind of, to describe.
[00:16:08.244]So I'm not sure what I said, but I think I said something
[00:16:12.286]a walk about, walking alongside someone.
[00:16:16.250]Which is kind of what I think about it.
[00:16:17.489]Not walking in front of, you know,
[00:16:18.918]I don't know what's right for them, or what's best for them,
[00:16:21.062]and I'm not walking behind them.
[00:16:22.918]But I'm kind of providing information
[00:16:25.350]of what I know about the resources,
[00:16:27.398]and kind of then guiding, you know, through the process.
[00:16:30.374]Whether that's the criminal justice process,
[00:16:32.390]whether it's through a sexual assault exam,
[00:16:34.501](speech drowned out by classroom noise).
[00:16:36.197]Just a variety of different (mumbling).
[00:16:38.469]You can see around that wheel,
[00:16:39.845]just different parts of advocacy that are very important
[00:16:43.600]as far as respecting confidentiality,
[00:16:46.650]acknowledging the injustice and the violence
[00:16:49.199]that people have experienced.
[00:16:50.852]Safety planning, promoting access to community services.
[00:16:56.697]I'll talk a little bit more about some of the (mumbling).
[00:17:01.156]Questions about any of that?
[00:17:02.618]I assume you're all good at asking questions.
[00:17:07.156]So empowerment and advocacy,
[00:17:09.789]and the kind of work that we do.
[00:17:11.250]Primary reason for advocacy is to empower someone
[00:17:14.088]to advocate for themselves,
[00:17:15.922]and to take control of their own life,
[00:17:17.618]and make it safer for themselves and their children.
[00:17:20.327]So some of, kind of on that day-to-day practical stuff,
[00:17:23.068]what that might mean for me,
[00:17:24.743]is I'm not gonna make all the phone calls
[00:17:28.551]on behalf of people that I'm working with.
[00:17:30.876]I might give them the information,
[00:17:32.198]I might give them, you know, a safe space to make calls
[00:17:35.142]and write down the information.
[00:17:37.051]But I'm not gonna take control, and try to do that.
[00:17:40.570]Although we have some community partners
[00:17:42.356]who want to hear first from the advocate,
[00:17:44.105]and then put clients that we're working with on the phone.
[00:17:48.094]For the most part, providing that information
[00:17:50.697]and then letting people decide what they want to do.
[00:17:56.777]So our work at Voices of Hope is based on the belief
[00:17:59.763]that everybody is the expert on their own life,
[00:18:02.963]and knows what's best for them.
[00:18:05.267]And that people need support, understanding,
[00:18:07.475]and accurate information to make choices
[00:18:09.352]for themselves and their family.
[00:18:11.368]So it's not uncommon for me to say, I don't know.
[00:18:15.154]I don't know the answer.
[00:18:16.637]Let me step out, let me ask another person in the office,
[00:18:19.794]or let me see what I can do to find the resources for you.
[00:18:23.814]So we want to make sure that we're giving
[00:18:25.678]truthful and accurate information to the people.
[00:18:28.441]Not saying that everything's gonna be okay,
[00:18:31.147]but we're saying sorry this happened to you.
[00:18:33.487]How can I help, how can I support?
[00:18:37.967]Empowerment and confidentiality then,
[00:18:39.780]are the cornerstones of the work that's done
[00:18:42.009]at domestic violence and sexual assault programs.
[00:18:44.718]We have privileged communication,
[00:18:46.788]so you can't call up and ask us something.
[00:18:49.486]We're not gonna tell you.
[00:18:50.691]You know, we don't provide information
[00:18:52.110]without written releases from our clients.
[00:18:54.936]We, knock on wood, we very rarely are subpoenaed
[00:18:58.787]to testify in court.
[00:19:00.227]It's not our role, it's not what we want to do,
[00:19:02.435]be doing advocates.
[00:19:04.973]As it says, it's to help people explore
[00:19:07.544]the available options, and then talk about also
[00:19:09.488]what the possible consequences of those things are.
[00:19:12.550]Sometimes the unintended consequences.
[00:19:16.639]And then we respect of course, the survivor's right
[00:19:19.026]to make their own decisions.
[00:19:23.207]So people will see our program such as Voices of Hope,
[00:19:26.780]instead of maybe other types of governmental services,
[00:19:30.033]because they need and want
[00:19:31.591]that confidential relationship with an advocate.
[00:19:35.298]And they have to be confident that
[00:19:36.603]that's what's gonna happen.
[00:19:38.629]They're not gonna come and receive our services
[00:19:41.659](indecipherable speech).
[00:19:45.882]Excuse me.
[00:19:47.024]So kind of some of the basic skills,
[00:19:49.060]or the basic things that happen with the advocacy
[00:19:53.188]that we do, of course listening.
[00:19:55.811]I believe that sometimes we underestimate the value of that.
[00:20:01.315]That if I'm doing crisis intervention,
[00:20:04.216]you're kind of always in crisis mode,
[00:20:06.051]and I have to think quick, and I have to always be talking,
[00:20:08.675]always be talking, always be talking.
[00:20:10.285]So, this kind of getting comfortable with the silence,
[00:20:13.954]and getting comfortable with just listening
[00:20:17.730]because I had to give up long ago,
[00:20:21.036]the idea that I was gonna be,
[00:20:22.693]that I was gonna have an answer for everybody.
[00:20:27.740]That's not true.
[00:20:29.567]I get, as an advocate I get to be
[00:20:31.579]a part of people's process,
[00:20:33.574]and so each time somebody calls our crisis line,
[00:20:36.390]you know, I get to be a part of that process,
[00:20:38.683]like answering the phone, or uses our walk-in services.
[00:20:41.563](indecipherable speech)
[00:20:46.832]So you get to be a part of that process (mumbling).
[00:20:51.834]So we try to create a safe space.
[00:20:54.500]That can mean a variety of different things.
[00:20:58.384]What is hanging on the walls of my office.
[00:21:02.251]We hope it's a welcoming place where a couple of people
[00:21:05.104]who pass us on the corner of 26th and N.
[00:21:07.728]A lot of mismatched furniture (mumbling)
[00:21:10.192]worn out carpet, and stuff.
[00:21:11.737]But trying to make that feel safe, look safe,
[00:21:16.911]you know again, by what's presented on the walls.
[00:21:19.138]That type of thing.
[00:21:20.866]Providing people privacy to make those phone calls,
[00:21:24.801]and just a whole, kind of a lot of different ways.
[00:21:27.342]Yes.
[00:21:28.160]Do you provide a place to stay
[00:21:30.260]like overnight for anybody?
[00:21:31.561]No.
[00:21:32.190]We are not the shelters.
[00:21:33.353]So here in Lincoln we do have a free-standing shelter
[00:21:36.201]for victims of domestic violence (mumbling).
[00:21:39.682]Then some of the smaller more rural communities
[00:21:43.041]throughout Nebraska, we'll use like safe houses and motels.
[00:21:46.817]That type of thing.
[00:21:47.777]So we provide all these different services,
[00:21:50.624]but not the shelter.
[00:21:53.185]Which then I think, sometimes it's harder then,
[00:21:56.071]to describe what we do provide
[00:21:58.162]because we all understand
[00:22:00.157]what that would be like, not to have,
[00:22:02.204]we can kind of understand, I don't have a place to go,
[00:22:04.807]where am I gonna stay?
[00:22:06.727]So I think that shelter cases a little concrete
[00:22:08.893]for people to understand,
[00:22:10.911]but then when I get invited to come in and say,
[00:22:13.713]you know, what do you do at Voices of Hope?
[00:22:15.665]It's advocacy.
[00:22:16.668]It's kind of you know, kind of support,
[00:22:19.494]we validate, we listen.
[00:22:20.870]It's a little more fluid, I think, for people
[00:22:23.729](indecipherable speech)
[00:22:25.751]Thank you for asking me that.
[00:22:27.490](indecipherable speech)
[00:22:30.370]So we're gonna start with people's, their concerns,
[00:22:33.644]their questions, so sometimes, excuse me.
[00:22:36.852]We do have walk-in services,
[00:22:38.526]so people can come in without an appointment.
[00:22:40.553]Since we started to do that a number of years ago,
[00:22:42.963]it's really been very helpful.
[00:22:44.916]'Cause if you're in crisis, it doesn't always work
[00:22:47.662]to call up and say, when can I come in?
[00:22:50.307]You could usually get a scheduled time within a few days,
[00:22:53.699]but (speech drowned by ambient noise) right now.
[00:22:56.280]I don't wanted to do it on the crisis line.
[00:22:57.880]I want to see you, and I want to talk to you face to face.
[00:23:00.899]So we have those drop-in services Monday thru Friday,
[00:23:03.565]from nine to four, with the exception of Wednesday,
[00:23:06.466]from nine to 7pm.
[00:23:08.855]Really, when people use our drop-in services,
[00:23:11.266]it's sometimes they know very specifically what they want.
[00:23:14.724]I want help filling out a protection order.
[00:23:18.525]I need help changing my locks, some financial resources.
[00:23:22.196]But sometimes it's, I don't know,
[00:23:24.116]I just drive by here every day,
[00:23:25.854]and I just think I need to talk to somebody
[00:23:27.465]about what's going on in my relationship.
[00:23:29.811]It's again, meeting that person where they are,
[00:23:33.150]listening, listening, listening,
[00:23:35.304]and then kind of going forward
[00:23:36.606]with what their needs might be.
[00:23:39.229]So trying to communicate effectively,
[00:23:41.673]and of course always acknowledging people's
[00:23:43.390](indecipherable speech)
[00:23:48.286]So, some of the kinds of advocacy
[00:23:50.280]that wouldn't be empowering of helpful,
[00:23:53.139]so then aggressive.
[00:23:54.184]I'm not gonna be calling up the county attorney
[00:23:55.741]and you know, trying to pick a fight,
[00:23:57.800]or saying you have to do this, or that you have to do that.
[00:24:01.394]That's not gonna work.
[00:24:02.632]It's not gonna be helpful, or beneficial, or empowering
[00:24:05.582]for the people we're providing services to.
[00:24:10.038]Also though, it's not the going along with everything.
[00:24:14.667]Smile, being nice, it's not, you know,
[00:24:16.437]and letting people walk all over us.
[00:24:18.908]The woman who hired me many years ago said to me,
[00:24:24.252]if somebody in the community is upset with you,
[00:24:26.833]sometimes that means we're doing a good job.
[00:24:30.342]Sometimes what being an advocate, for myself, has meant
[00:24:34.033]is holding other systems accountable
[00:24:36.464]in how they treat victims and survivors.
[00:24:39.046](mumbling) those people who have experienced violence,
[00:24:42.299]and so sometimes that means law enforcement,
[00:24:44.549]and a medical personal (mumbling).
[00:24:48.773]Of course, passive advocacy as far as
[00:24:50.469]not being actively involved.
[00:24:53.903]And then the bleeding heart.
[00:24:55.238]Of thinking the people that I'm working with,
[00:24:57.510]oh, those poor people, oh those poor women
[00:25:00.112]who've experienced this.
[00:25:01.456]I don't think that at all.
[00:25:03.017]The people that I work with, I think are incredibly strong
[00:25:06.436]and incredibly resilient, flexible.
[00:25:10.564]I can't help thinking they have low self-esteem.
[00:25:12.578]I think they just often times hadn't had an opportunity
[00:25:14.860]to have that flourished, or be reminded of their strengths.
[00:25:22.796]Yeah.
[00:25:23.577]What's the major difference between
[00:25:25.369]Voices of Hope and friendship home?
[00:25:28.153]What's the major difference between the two?
[00:25:30.958]So Voices, we're a public.
[00:25:32.304]We want you to know where we are, when to come over.
[00:25:34.795]We're going to do, again, that kind of,
[00:25:37.129]the advocacies, the going to the hospital with people,
[00:25:39.891]responding to the hospital for sexual assault
[00:25:41.971]and domestic violence victims and survivors.
[00:25:44.954]Helping people fill out protection orders.
[00:25:47.520]And then friendship home is a free-standing shelter.
[00:25:50.165]I can tell you where it's located,
[00:25:52.863]and that's for women and children only.
[00:25:55.007]So a shelter.
[00:25:56.308]Then they're not doing all of that necessarily,
[00:25:58.260]out in the community, advocacy,
[00:26:00.393]or going to court, that type of thing.
[00:26:07.464]Because advocacy is very voluntary,
[00:26:10.301]it's not gonna work if somebody drags
[00:26:11.762]somebody in to try to talk to us.
[00:26:15.271]It's non-coercive, so I'm not gonna trick somebody
[00:26:17.735]into talking to me, and giving you more information.
[00:26:20.295]It's non-judgmental.
[00:26:22.130]I know that I'm gonna work with people
[00:26:24.220]with regards to intimate partner violence
[00:26:25.884]who may be grieving, they maybe have left,
[00:26:29.372]they may be never going to (mumbling).
[00:26:31.601]And that's not my place to judge.
[00:26:33.222]It's my place to provide support, information,
[00:26:36.806]talk about can you be as safe as possible.
[00:26:40.283]Again, as I've mentioned, and I'll continue to mention,
[00:26:42.656]it's confidential and empowering.
[00:26:46.112]So it's not therapy, or counseling.
[00:26:50.901]It's not investigative, so I'm not gonna, again,
[00:26:54.122]not try to trick people into giving me more information
[00:26:56.980]or gather information that I'm gonna pass on
[00:26:59.979]to law enforcement, or any other system.
[00:27:03.275]So I may respond to the hospital to provide services,
[00:27:06.848]and support for somebody who's been sexually assaulted,
[00:27:09.548]and that person may tell me things
[00:27:11.617]or while law enforcement isn't in the room,
[00:27:14.913]or while the sexual assault nurse examiner
[00:27:17.153]is not in the room.
[00:27:19.009]I don't pass that information on.
[00:27:21.646]Then when they give their statement
[00:27:23.182]maybe to law enforcement, they don't tell
[00:27:25.635]part of what they told me,
[00:27:27.075]I don't pass that information on.
[00:27:29.421]That's again, that privileged communication
[00:27:31.885]and the confidentiality
[00:27:36.523]between what she or he has told me.
[00:27:40.617]Again, it's not judgmental, it's not procedural.
[00:27:43.358]So it's not gonna be a cooking kind of approach,
[00:27:45.448]that I'm gonna do x, then the y, z,
[00:27:47.837]and then we move forward.
[00:27:48.904]It doesn't happen like that, or it's not handled.
[00:27:53.106]So we do give accurate information, as best we can,
[00:27:56.680]offering support, respecting the client's wishes.
[00:28:00.992]We do assist in having those wishes met by other people
[00:28:04.000]if possible, and understanding that it wasn't
[00:28:06.251]the victim's or survivor's fault.
[00:28:09.269]We don't make decisions, don't persuade,
[00:28:11.808]don't voice personal opinions and values.
[00:28:15.018]We don't act as an extension of law enforcement,
[00:28:19.173]don't compare one person's situation to another's.
[00:28:25.507]Any questions about the advocacy?
[00:28:28.898]Sometimes it's hard to kind of describe
[00:28:31.363]'cause it's (indecipherable speech).
[00:28:35.107]Yeah.
[00:28:38.056]Can you describe the differences
[00:28:40.244]between naming them as victims and survivors?
[00:28:44.376]No.
[00:28:44.916](laughing)
[00:28:46.350]Not for myself.
[00:28:47.287]I mean I do, I mean like here,
[00:28:50.380]I do it interchangeably a lot.
[00:28:54.702]And I'll do it with people that I'm working with.
[00:28:58.204]Sometimes they'll tell me right off the bat,
[00:28:59.946]don't call me that.
[00:29:01.268]You know?
[00:29:02.623]So if I was working with someone
[00:29:05.801]and talked about them being a victim,
[00:29:07.380]and I, don't call me that, I got through it, I survived.
[00:29:10.420]Please call me a survivor.
[00:29:12.001]I use them interchangeably when I talk about (mumbling).
[00:29:21.949]Do you have--
[00:29:22.819]What about the, like on your flyers?
[00:29:26.782](mumbling), or like what kind of language?
[00:29:31.214]Is it interchangeable there, too?
[00:29:39.840]Here, it's providing services to empower those
[00:29:41.963]who've experienced relationship violence
[00:29:44.058](indecipherable speech).
[00:29:51.813]Yeah, I did not really intend time talking about it
[00:29:54.277]with (mumbling).
[00:30:01.573]Probably not recently.
[00:30:03.352]Probably not recently, and I'm not,
[00:30:05.538]I am not involved in our website at all, (laughs)
[00:30:08.695]so I mean I know that others are,
[00:30:11.276]kind of go through that process.
[00:30:15.142]I suppose for some people,
[00:30:18.118]saying it all one way or all the other way,
[00:30:21.894]is kind of (mumbling).
[00:30:23.664]You know, I don't think you know
[00:30:24.987]kind of what their reaction is gonna be.
[00:30:28.890]I mean people are victims of these crimes,
[00:30:33.530]but then I again, so I really listen to the individual
[00:30:36.536]clients that I'm working with to what they're gonna,
[00:30:38.883]how they're gonna (mumbling).
[00:30:46.953]Well, I brought some information on protection orders then,
[00:30:49.482]if you all (speech drowned out by classroom noise) those,
[00:30:51.325]kind of look at what they are.
[00:30:53.276]It's again, something we help people fill out and file.
[00:30:57.196]But this is what it is.
[00:30:58.710]I mean I always say, if somebody comes in and says,
[00:31:00.843]please help me fill out a protection order,
[00:31:02.582]I'm gonna hold up my piece of paper and say I will gladly.
[00:31:05.946]This is what it is.
[00:31:07.940]It's granted by the judge, it's a piece of paper.
[00:31:09.860]It will only be as good as the person
[00:31:11.300]who'll file it (mumbling).
[00:31:14.759]Again, that person who's wanting to fill out
[00:31:17.053]the protection order is gonna know.
[00:31:19.581]Yes, I've had one in the past, and it helped.
[00:31:21.490]It increased my safety.
[00:31:23.111]No, it's not gonna help.
[00:31:25.319]It's gonna make things worse,
[00:31:27.036]but the cops told me I had to, CBS told me I had to.
[00:31:31.499]We really, again, try to listen very closely
[00:31:33.648]to the people that we're working with.
[00:31:35.856]Protection orders are not restraining orders.
[00:31:38.662]Those are two different things.
[00:31:39.867]We're not lawyers, we're legal advocates.
[00:31:42.565]So we're not giving legal advice,
[00:31:45.114]but a restraining order is something
[00:31:47.909]that a judge grants, or that is made by a judge
[00:31:51.685]as part of another on-going civil trial.
[00:31:53.989]So it's attached maybe to a divorce (mumbling),
[00:31:56.570]that type of thing.
[00:31:58.607]If you file a restraining order against me,
[00:32:02.191]and then you violate it, and I call the police,
[00:32:04.559]there's nothing that they can do.
[00:32:07.245]I have to call back to the court,
[00:32:09.043]and that person's found in contempt of court.
[00:32:11.549]So a protection order for victims and survivors
[00:32:14.145]of domestic violence is much more helpful,
[00:32:18.347]if that's what they want to do
[00:32:20.449]because it's a simple process to fill it out,
[00:32:23.148]so they don't need an attorney
[00:32:24.630]to fill out a protection order.
[00:32:26.209]But a violation of a protection order is a criminal offense,
[00:32:29.068]so if you have one and somebody violates it,
[00:32:31.352]they should be lodged in jail each and every time.
[00:32:34.595]That's what should happen.
[00:32:38.199]Two different kinds.
[00:32:39.042]There's a domestic abuse protection order,
[00:32:41.239]and a harassment protection order.
[00:32:44.844]And then the domestic abuse protection order
[00:32:46.636]is a specific type issued by a judge
[00:32:49.238]that tells the why the person
[00:32:50.465]not to commit certain acts against the other.
[00:32:53.138]So when folks fill those out,
[00:32:54.898]they have to write down on their affidavit,
[00:32:59.149]and you don't get very much room,
[00:33:00.415]you get like a page to write what you like.
[00:33:03.273]This is what the judge is going to look at to,
[00:33:05.780]look at this written order,
[00:33:07.582]tell us what has happened to you,
[00:33:08.980]tell us why you're afraid,
[00:33:10.562]tell us why you think this protection order will help you.
[00:33:13.840]So it does require a physical violence,
[00:33:16.052]sexual violence, or be threatened.
[00:33:19.540]And then in Lancaster County, there generally needs to be
[00:33:23.711]a recent incident, and more than one.
[00:33:26.400]So recent would mean within six months,
[00:33:30.604]and then as I said, more than one incident.
[00:33:34.983]We don't have a high success rate
[00:33:37.625]of protection orders being granted in Lancaster County.
[00:33:41.295]They don't say why.
[00:33:45.152]It's ultimately up to the judge, whether it's granted.
[00:33:50.801]These are the relationships then,
[00:33:52.988]that can apply for the domestic violence protection order.
[00:33:56.028]Spouse, former spouse, person you've lived with,
[00:33:59.355]person you are currently dating, or have dated in the past.
[00:34:02.482]Ones you have a child in common with,
[00:34:03.965]your child, or your relative.
[00:34:06.866]Singular relationship with.
[00:34:09.234]Your neighbor, no.
[00:34:13.319]And then I'll let you kind of look at these,
[00:34:14.994]but the different release then,
[00:34:16.551]that you can ask for when you're checking the boxes
[00:34:19.036]on the protection order.
[00:34:27.644]So one of those being the granting temporary custody,
[00:34:30.875]you can ask for up to 90 days.
[00:34:33.265]But if somebody comes in and tells me
[00:34:35.376]they want to file a protection order just to get custody,
[00:34:39.361]that's not a good use of the protection order.
[00:34:41.713]It has to be with other, you know,
[00:34:43.257]to encourage their safety, those type of things.
[00:34:46.773]You can ask them to (ambient classroom noise)
[00:34:48.396]removed in a (mumbling) from your residence.
[00:34:50.551]Whether they were, you know, living together or not.
[00:34:53.661]You can ask for all these things,
[00:34:55.148]and then the judge can grant (mumbling).
[00:35:05.279]Yeah.
[00:35:07.370]I was just wondering in Lincoln,
[00:35:10.039]of the protection orders that are granted.
[00:35:13.559]If the abuser were to violate the order,
[00:35:17.461]how often are they actually,
[00:35:20.917]I know you said they were supposed to go to jail.
[00:35:23.535]Like how often do they go to jail?
[00:35:26.224]Normally they do.
[00:35:27.803]I guess I say it that way because I never,
[00:35:30.683]you know if you file a protection order,
[00:35:32.037]I never want you to think that
[00:35:33.242]that's gonna automatically,
[00:35:35.397]that is what is supposed to happen.
[00:35:36.933]That's what the law says.
[00:35:38.842]There are some situations,
[00:35:40.047]times when things could fall through the cracks,
[00:35:42.138]so that's why I said it that way.
[00:35:44.522]Mm-hmm.
[00:35:45.525]Part of our cooperative agreement with law enforcement
[00:35:49.061]and Lincoln Police Department, Lincoln Sheriff's Department,
[00:35:52.186]Lancaster Sheriff's Department,
[00:35:53.402]is they contact us when they lodge someone in jail
[00:35:56.133]for domestic assault, sexual assault,
[00:35:58.202]violation of a protection order.
[00:36:00.388]So that we have a period of time
[00:36:02.176]to make contact with the victims in those cases.
[00:36:08.032]Because again, if I'm lodged for any one of those crimes
[00:36:11.798]that I just mentioned, I should not be able
[00:36:13.771]to get out of jail 'til I go in front of the judge.
[00:36:17.355]So no matter how much money I have in my pocket,
[00:36:19.840]I shouldn't be able to bond out.
[00:36:21.238]So if I'm lodged on a Friday night,
[00:36:23.136]Monday's a legal holiday,
[00:36:26.599]I should be there 'til Tuesday afternoon at two.
[00:36:29.367]So it gives kind of a window of safety.
[00:36:32.589]Safety for us to reach out, to make contact with people,
[00:36:35.703]provide information about services, safety planning.
[00:36:42.369]So you can see the judge decides,
[00:36:45.563]then monetary decisions can be made,
[00:36:47.746]be granted ex parte, so temporary,
[00:36:51.034]but it's only valid 'til it's served.
[00:36:54.992]The judge can deny it, or the judge
[00:36:57.423]can schedule a show cause hearing.
[00:36:59.418]So, I can't decide, but I'm gonna schedule this hearing,
[00:37:02.948]so the respondent has a chance
[00:37:06.522]to come in and show cause
[00:37:08.025]why this order should be granted.
[00:37:13.369]The harassment protection order,
[00:37:14.830]these are even more difficult to get granted.
[00:37:17.902]They can be filed or issued against anyone
[00:37:22.105]who is harassing you, so these are the examples.
[00:37:24.472]There is somebody stalking you or following you.
[00:37:28.227]Some of the things that make it difficult
[00:37:31.965]with harassment protection orders,
[00:37:35.049]is sometimes people are being stalked,
[00:37:36.863]or harassed, or followed by people they don't know.
[00:37:39.625]I just know this is happening,
[00:37:41.246]but you have to have a name, you have to have an address
[00:37:44.190]when you fill these forms out,
[00:37:45.726]so that adds to the difficulty.
[00:37:49.903]Also I think with stalking and harassment,
[00:37:54.670]sometimes the behavior in the things
[00:37:58.706]that the stalker is doing, it's not criminal.
[00:38:03.686]So if I go out and there's flowers all over my car,
[00:38:06.534](indecipherable speech),
[00:38:10.694]but who am I gonna tell that to?
[00:38:13.349]But if I know it's kind of a pattern
[00:38:15.109]from somebody who's been following me,
[00:38:16.574]or if I go out, my meter's always plugged,
[00:38:19.315]you know, so with a note, I could get a ticket.
[00:38:22.152]Then somebody knows where I am, right?
[00:38:23.848]Knows what my car looks like.
[00:38:25.565]So a lot of that behavior in you know, stalkers,
[00:38:28.225]is kind of...
[00:38:31.235]It's hard to prove, and a lot of it is not criminal.
[00:38:38.980]About protection orders, it's kind of the more you know,
[00:38:42.331]or I know about protection orders,
[00:38:43.623]the less I know about protection orders.
[00:38:45.810]'Cause I can help someone fill one out,
[00:38:48.220]and think there's no way a judge wouldn't grant this,
[00:38:51.921]and sometimes they don't get granted.
[00:38:53.404]Then the opposite has happened, as well,
[00:38:55.334]as far as (mumbling).
[00:39:00.625]I think for myself, the important part to remember
[00:39:02.779]is really listening to that person.
[00:39:05.062]Do you think this is going to be helpful
[00:39:07.104]to ensure safety (indecipherable speech).
[00:39:14.242]Safety planning, a word that advocates,
[00:39:16.364]we talk about this all the time,
[00:39:18.839]and many people come to us and say,
[00:39:23.013]I'm involved in child protective services,
[00:39:25.414]and they told me I have to get a safety plan.
[00:39:27.824]That's not necessarily the thing.
[00:39:30.480]I mean I have a brochure from our state coalition
[00:39:32.571]to get your some ideas of what to think about,
[00:39:35.440]but it's not something concrete.
[00:39:39.301]Again, it's very dependent on what the abuser is doing,
[00:39:42.827]the tactics that they use to try to establish control
[00:39:45.910]and maintain that control.
[00:39:47.779]Again, we're gonna be listening, and listening to people,
[00:39:50.669]and asking, what event (mumbling).
[00:39:53.240]What you need to feel safe from what he'd done in the past,
[00:39:56.811]and what we never do again.
[00:39:58.593]Those kind of questions.
[00:40:00.960]So it's very much an individualized tool
[00:40:03.936]that assist in preparing for the possibility
[00:40:07.762]of future violence and abuse.
[00:40:10.269]It's created by using a person's responses
[00:40:12.658]to questions about possible situations.
[00:40:15.634]Again, things that they've done in the past,
[00:40:17.394]things the abuser has done.
[00:40:21.405]Kind of their support system sometimes that
[00:40:23.678](indecipherable speech).
[00:40:26.675]So it should be very specific to the people
[00:40:29.139]that we're working with.
[00:40:30.739]We should identify concerns, enhance safety.
[00:40:34.173]It's not a fill in the blank.
[00:40:35.570]That doesn't mean that we don't have them.
[00:40:37.128]So sometimes I might be working with somebody
[00:40:39.346]who has some time to come into the office,
[00:40:42.197]and really wants to think through a lot of these things.
[00:40:45.028]So it's best to do, you know, when they're safe.
[00:40:47.898]You have the time, and you can really talk about
[00:40:50.304]some of the questions, and that type of thing.
[00:40:53.909]So the brochure from our state coalition
[00:40:56.042]just talks about safety in public, or at work,
[00:40:58.879]safety using technology, safety after an incident,
[00:41:03.060]safety for your pets, safety in driving,
[00:41:06.964]safety in preparing to leave,
[00:41:08.468]safety if you're living alone.
[00:41:10.025]So just lots of different things to think about,
[00:41:12.510]and that's best done when you're as safe as possible,
[00:41:15.529]when you do that with somebody
[00:41:16.777]who you can talk those things through
[00:41:19.006](indecipherable speech).
[00:41:22.446]Woops.
[00:41:26.910](speech drowned by classroom noise)
[00:41:28.544]I wanted the time to be what questions might (mumbling).
[00:41:36.600]Just keep movin'.
[00:41:38.180]Just some things to say.
[00:41:39.511]I gathered these up.
[00:41:41.206]Just kind of life-saving messages,
[00:41:42.998]and they look pretty simple.
[00:41:45.426]About what we hear repeatedly
[00:41:47.184]from people who've experienced violence,
[00:41:49.381]that it's very important to hear these kind of messages.
[00:41:52.144]Not just when they call our crisis line,
[00:41:54.608]but from lots of different places,
[00:41:56.741]and lots of different folks that they interact with.
[00:41:59.578]So review.
[00:42:00.755]Sorry this happened to you,
[00:42:02.277]you don't deserve to be treated this way.
[00:42:04.722]I'm here for you.
[00:42:05.746]And you fill in the blank, what's appropriate.
[00:42:07.463]You know, if you need to talk, that type of thing.
[00:42:10.013]Help is available.
[00:42:12.387]So I'm passing information on about our crisis line,
[00:42:15.566]or about the services that we provide to (mumbling).
[00:42:21.048]But I think it's always important to remember then,
[00:42:23.361]these points are safety for victims and their children,
[00:42:26.955]is always the first priority.
[00:42:29.888]Every person is an expert on their life situation.
[00:42:33.400]And then being aware of any resources
[00:42:35.354]or referrals that we have.
[00:42:37.786]A lot of resources and a lot of supportive systems
[00:42:40.484]in the community that most don't know about
[00:42:43.460]until you need them.
[00:42:50.627]I'm doing my internship right now
[00:42:52.067]with child and family services.
[00:42:56.012]I've seen lots of families that report
[00:42:59.008]that they were, it's the female abuser
[00:43:03.940]on the husband or boyfriend.
[00:43:06.866]I was just wondering, are you guys looking into
[00:43:10.333]developing more programs for men,
[00:43:12.444]or do you try to engage men
[00:43:15.346]into reaching out for services, or that kind of thing?
[00:43:19.331]Or is it strictly because of the majority is women,
[00:43:22.880]then that's who you focus on?
[00:43:26.869]That's a really good question.
[00:43:28.206]So tell me, children and family services--
[00:43:29.667]Child and family--
[00:43:30.275]DHHS?
[00:43:30.990]Through DHHS. Right.
[00:43:31.800]Okay. Okay.
[00:43:33.272]So it's a (mumbling) involvement?
[00:43:34.680]Mm-hmm.
[00:43:35.288]Okay.
[00:43:37.204]I mean our services are for men, as well.
[00:43:41.160]Not our groups.
[00:43:42.560]I mean that's the only part that isn't for men only.
[00:43:48.603]Or that's for women only, sorry.
[00:43:51.952]I don't feel like we're actively
[00:43:55.047]searching to add more services.
[00:43:57.991]And I think our active engagement of men and boys
[00:44:01.521]is having us join in this work.
[00:44:05.391]So to prevent them (mumbling).
[00:44:10.867](laughs) It's not a very good answer.
[00:44:13.124]Our individual services would be available
[00:44:15.384]for people who (indecipherable speech).
[00:44:18.242]I just wondered if some of these men
[00:44:21.163]don't realize that these services are available to them.
[00:44:25.755]Most people I know that know Voices of Hope,
[00:44:27.873]they help females, that's an automatic given.
[00:44:31.361]But they're not sure that the men,
[00:44:33.803]where and what services are available out there.
[00:44:36.331]So I was just wondering if there's something
[00:44:37.561]that you guys were working behind the scenes
[00:44:39.182]and trying to figure out how to reach out
[00:44:41.454]or engage men more?
[00:44:43.011]I think, you know, just in our everyday communication
[00:44:46.499]and presentation just as us talking about the services,
[00:44:49.400]for all the experiences of violence,
[00:44:54.052]but I can't walk away from the majority of violence
[00:44:56.484]is gender-based violence.
[00:44:59.328]We are talking about a sense of entitlement,
[00:45:03.413]but you know (mumbling) services are for
[00:45:06.085](indecipherable speech).
[00:45:16.071]Yeah.
[00:45:16.826]How are you...
[00:45:21.746]Your staff up-to-date (indecipherable speech),
[00:45:26.695]is it like get these services, or (mumbling)
[00:45:32.368]and talk, or do you just have meetings?
[00:45:35.627]I'm not (mumbling), but (mumbling).
[00:45:40.754]So, today on what (indecipherable speech).
[00:45:43.683]So maybe like this.
[00:45:44.882]Like what kind of statistics are being seen
[00:45:47.716]in Lancaster County, or more so in Nebraska?
[00:45:52.067]Or, maybe not even statistics,
[00:45:54.457]but things that are being asked of
[00:45:58.584](indecipherable speech).
[00:46:00.981]So maybe like the groups, or I just, I don't know.
[00:46:07.206]We have staff development, you know,
[00:46:08.763]regular staff development,
[00:46:09.926]and we have a variety of different things.
[00:46:12.059](indecipherable speech)
[00:46:17.232]Which is a whole other subject than (mumbling).
[00:46:20.436]I am sure we're seeing lots of folks
[00:46:22.974]who are contracting (mumbling).
[00:46:27.156]And sometimes the staff developments
[00:46:28.963]are just bringing another team partner,
[00:46:31.555]just to talk about their resources, that we do.
[00:46:36.025]The unfortunate reality is we are very busy
[00:46:38.728]on a day-to-day basis doing crisis intervention,
[00:46:41.726]and work with the individuals that walk in.
[00:46:45.235]So we have a weekly case review maybe,
[00:46:48.211]but it's talking about oftentimes,
[00:46:50.834]the individual case, you know?
[00:46:54.290]The case manage mind, but our work has become...
[00:46:59.342]It's difficult.
[00:47:00.518]And I think we're seeing more and more people
[00:47:02.395]who maybe are at the intersection of
[00:47:04.870]experiencing violence, chronic mental health,
[00:47:07.209]self-service issues.
[00:47:09.097]And so, yeah.
[00:47:11.859]It's hard, it's hard.
[00:47:15.214]Going to conferences and training is something,
[00:47:18.526]international trainings and conferences
[00:47:21.140]are few and far between for the resources,
[00:47:24.174]and we're lucky at Voices of Hope
[00:47:26.201]to be a larger staff.
[00:47:28.515]It's not very many, maybe 15, 20 of us total,
[00:47:32.659]but some of our programs in smaller communitities
[00:47:36.795]maybe only have five on staff.
[00:47:38.105]So sending two people to international conference
[00:47:40.268]for training is, they can't do that.
[00:47:42.956]To take away from their daily work, so.
[00:47:47.766]We're all, we're you know, looking into research,
[00:47:51.669]and those kind of things, and go onto list serves,
[00:47:54.422]and get a lot of information from them.
[00:47:56.372]Sometimes on the day-to-day, it's hard.
[00:47:58.953](indecipherable speech)
[00:48:02.153]How long do (mumbling),
[00:48:03.688]and what are their responsibilities?
[00:48:06.217]Probably at any given time,
[00:48:07.523]we have between 40 to 60 volunteers,
[00:48:10.915]and some of those work on crisis line.
[00:48:12.515]Work for us after going through the 32-hour training,
[00:48:15.951]I believe it is.
[00:48:17.316]Some of them then take some additional training,
[00:48:19.993]then help us go into the hospitals for our on-call.
[00:48:24.867]Of course our board of directors is all volunteers.
[00:48:28.289]Sometimes we have, I know we have (mumbling).
[00:48:30.919]They're coming in to clean the yard, or something,
[00:48:32.790]so it would be that kind of
[00:48:33.869]non-direct service volunteers, as well.
[00:48:38.808]Do you guys also have a working relationship with the CAC,
[00:48:41.783]or are you guys like, not really working together much?
[00:48:46.274]'Cause I know you guys do all this special violence
[00:48:48.428]and stuff, as well.
[00:48:49.431]So I wasn't sure how--
[00:48:51.220]Right.
[00:48:51.910]Of course, you know, the involvement
[00:48:53.356]with the Child Advocacy Center are key in this community,
[00:48:56.258]to have them provide to child victims.
[00:49:00.384]Sometimes the overlap happens with
[00:49:04.484]15, 16, 17 year old victims,
[00:49:07.347]like who's gonna respond?
[00:49:10.423]They're best served to do that for child victims,
[00:49:14.831]primary of the process core, and you know,
[00:49:16.747]and all the collection of evidence,
[00:49:18.916]and how that kind of happened at the centers.
[00:49:21.455]But you guys overlap while (mumbling)?
[00:49:25.489]Yeah sometimes that's kind of (mumbling).
[00:49:28.267]We may do the initial responding to the hospital,
[00:49:30.360]but then the other information comes,
[00:49:32.013]and proceed to court with (mumbling),
[00:49:35.800]and just understand that.
[00:49:39.676]There has to be a question from this side of the room.
[00:49:41.992]There has to be. (laughs)
[00:49:43.089]That's our quiet side.
[00:49:45.312]Do you normally work collaboratively together
[00:49:48.111]on cases, or do you usually contain it to one employee
[00:49:51.524]per case?
[00:49:52.907]Oh no, collaboratively.
[00:49:55.053]It's always, can I step out?
[00:49:57.496]I need to ask a question.
[00:49:58.818]It's, yeah.
[00:49:59.949]So when I talked about the confidentiality,
[00:50:03.157]it's not going outside the agency,
[00:50:05.151]but you know, we're gonna talk to people,
[00:50:07.583]but I'm maybe talking about this with my supervisor,
[00:50:10.164]or colleague, or getting some input, information, yeah.
[00:50:14.910]More heads are better than one, usually.
[00:50:17.902]But like I said, the situations are difficult sometimes.
[00:50:21.475]We all have different experiences and expertise.
[00:50:27.985]Yeah.
[00:50:28.542]What is the ratio, in terms of men or women
[00:50:30.603]in the staff and volunteers?
[00:50:32.608]We're all female staff (mumbling).
[00:50:36.525]Our volunteers, the majority are women.
[00:50:40.119]We have probably four or five active male volunteers.
[00:50:46.397]And some have been doing crisis line work for us
[00:50:48.370]for years and years and years.
[00:50:53.339]And some who also do the on-call advocacy
[00:50:56.056]at the hospital, and sometimes (mumbling).
[00:51:04.042]You also talked about self-care being very important.
[00:51:07.412]Is there are high turnover rate at Voices of Hope,
[00:51:10.362]or is it pretty...
[00:51:12.651]We'll work there forever. (laughs)
[00:51:15.587]Well I mean I say that,
[00:51:17.422]and then we did have some job openings,
[00:51:19.054]but our director has been there, and I've been there.
[00:51:23.736]We had a couple people retire within the last 35 years
[00:51:26.638](indecipherable speech).
[00:51:28.247]So a lot of internal work.
[00:51:30.145]It's kind of, like I said, it's not a job.
[00:51:33.068]It does become a whole way of life.
[00:51:34.582]So I don't see it as a place where people use it
[00:51:37.289]on account of getting experience (mumbling).
[00:51:40.681]It doesn't seem to happen that way.
[00:51:44.450]We are an internship site for undergrad
[00:51:46.871]and graduate interns, so (mumbling) nice.
[00:51:49.581]So then we have people who are doing
[00:51:53.412]kind of the direct service work,
[00:51:54.876]but also getting the experience of what we do,
[00:51:57.979]and knowing about us as they move forward
[00:51:59.953]to whatever (speech drowned by ambient noise).
[00:52:08.695]I think I look a bit more right with that side.
[00:52:14.120]Yeah.
[00:52:15.518]Or resources, or training that is specific to
[00:52:19.462](indecipherable speech).
[00:52:24.344]Hmm, I don't know about the training, probably.
[00:52:27.554]I know we had speakers or trainers
[00:52:30.157]come in and talk to the staff.
[00:52:35.501]I don't know that in detail (mumbling).
[00:52:49.880]I'll leave the brochures of the agency (mumbling).
[00:52:54.460]Thank you.

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CYAF 493/893 Guest Speaker: Sue Andersen

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