Many resources are available for victims as October is domestic violence awareness month

The month of October is domestic violence awareness month nationwide. A 2015 state report shows there were more than 15 reports of domestic violence per day in Delaware.

Domestic violence can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. It can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, ethnicity and economic status.

In Delaware, law enforcement made 13, 795 criminal arrests for these types of offenses in 2014. That’s nearly 38 a day. Luckily, there are many resources to help those victims involved.

People’s Place in Delaware has three programs. It has SAFE, which is the domestic violence program which provides emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence. Then they have Abriendo Puertas, which means opening doors, who has another shelter for the Spanish speaking communities. Last but not least, is Turning Point which provides counseling services for domestic violence victims.

Rosemary Martinez is the program director of Abriendo Puertas and she says the majority of the victims are women.

Domestic violence also includes psychological, sexual and economic abuse. Martinez explains counseling is one of the most rewarding resources they have in order to deal with these types of cases. 

Martinez says, “A lot of women have that guilt that they’ve done something wrong and this is why they’re being abused, which is not the case.”

The Domestic Violence therapist Ann Southard has worked with multiple victims for the past six years offering different types of counseling, such as support groups and individual counseling.

Southard says when they first come in, they are a little guarded at times but for a lot of the women that stay with her or continue to come to the support group, she says she hears all the time that it made a huge difference in their life. Southard emphasizes, “There is life after abuse.”

The hotline number for SAFE is 302-422-8058 and for Abriendo Puertas for Spanish speaking victims the number is 302-745-9874.

For Maryland, the hotline number is 410-749-HELP and for Virginia it is 804-377-0335.

The hotline numbers are a 24 hour 7 day week system available for victims at any moment.