Open Arms stretches to serve domestic violence survivors

Open Arms Domestic Violence & Rape Crisis Services keeps opening its arms ever wider, finding more ways to serve survivors, their children and even offenders. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Open Arms has become a one-stop refuge, its 22 employees doing what in other communities takes three or more agencies. "Our programs, we really consider them to be wraparound, holistic. We're not just serving one aspect of domestic violence or sexual assault," said Executive Director Ashley Ritz. "We're serving the whole family, everybody impacted by the situation, which makes our agency very unique." The agency has an emergency shelter at a confidential location where survivors can stay for about a month while they consider their next steps. Survivors also get an education. "A lot of people, when they come to us, they know they are in a bad situation, but they don't realize the years building up to that, building up to a physical incident," Ritz said. "There was probably most likely a lot of verbal, emotional abuse, which people after years and years of it, they just kind of get used to it and they just dismiss it. And it just becomes part of their normal life." Survivors have decisions to make about whether to seek counseling. If the incident that brought them to the shelter was domestic violence, they have to decide whether to return to the relationship or leave it. "It's really up to them. We support them in their choices," Ritz said. "We just want them to be healthy and happy." Support important to survival An emergency shelter, helpful as it is, cannot meet all of the community's needs, so Open Arms offers additional programs to meet those: • Advocates support survivors by attending the painful detective interviews with police detectives and court proceedings. They also help survivors with protection orders. "A lot of survivors don't want to go (to court) have to see their offender face to face ever again. So that's where the advocate comes in to play," Ritz said. "We can be that voice for them, and kind of the in-between, too, between the prosecutor's office and the police department or sheriff's office. We really just work on behalf of the survivor and make sure that they are informed of everything." Open Arms also has a 24-hour hotline, 419-422-4766, for people to call for questions, concerns or crises. • Survivors of sexual assault can stay at the same emergency shelter open to domestic violence survivors. Open Arms also offers 24/7 support at the Blanchard Valley Hospital emergency room for survivors of either domestic violence or sexual assault. "A forensic exam for sexual assault can take hours for evidence to be collected, so that's why it's important for an advocate to be there. Not only to support, but to tell them what is going on and inform them of the next steps," Ritz said. Open Arms advocates also support sexual assault survivors through criminal investigations and court proceedings. Peer support groups for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors are offered. Those who do not want to come to a group can get individual support from an agency advocate. That meeting can be in person, over Zoom or over the phone. However it happens, getting peer support is important for survivors, Ritz said. Some Open Arms clients have been in support groups for years. "That's really helpful to know that 'How I'm feeling is not crazy' and 'How my healing process is, is just like somebody else's,'" she said. "It can be a real helpful source for people to know that they are not the only one going through a situation and that they can get through it, too." • The Violence Recovery Project helps those who have been convicted or charged with domestic violence change their behavior. Participants attend 90-minute weekly educational programs for 26 or 52 weeks. Sessions discuss healthy relationships, the cycle of violence, how to not use abuse in a relationship and how to control anger. "It is pretty successful. We have a less than 5% recidivism rate on those that complete the program. But they've got to get through it. That can be a whole obstacle in itself," Ritz said. "We do have attendance requirements, we have homework requirements. You can't show up drunk or high. You've got to be an active participant." Many participants have been ordered by a court to attend as an alternative to jail. A new generation of survivors Open Arms sees children of all ages at its emergency shelter. "If they are younger, they probably got brought there in the middle of the night and they have no idea what's going on and they wake up in a strange place," Ritz said. "So that's where our advocates will work with them on education. We also want to ensure that the kids get the counseling and have proper resources there for their own mental health." Older kids, who frequently take on the role of being Mom's protector, may need additional help. "We also want to work with them on education, safety planning, because we don't want them to put themselves in a dangerous situation that they would get hurt, with the understanding that there is a possibility that, you know, Mom could go back," Ritz said. "That's something we always educate kids on, too." Open Arms' prevention coordinator makes presentations in area schools. "With younger kids, we would do a good-touch, bad-touch presentation," she said. "Older kids, we do healthy relationships, teen dating violence, domestic violence, sexual abuse, what does that look like for kids? Just to make them aware." • "Harmony House" is Open Arms' supervised visitation program for children who get removed from the home because of abuse or neglect. Kids can visit with a parent or guardian with an Open Arms staffer in the room, monitoring the situation. If divorced parents don't want to see each other, Open Arms enables conflict-free exchanges of children between the parents. One parent can come to the front door of the agency while the other comes to the back so they can swap kids without seeing each other, Ritz said. Open Arms is also exploring more ways to serve survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. "We have considered going to a text or chat option where you could reach an advocate, so you wouldn't have to call our hotline to reach somebody," Ritz said. "It could provide, potentially, additional access for survivors or a younger generation that doesn't want to pick up the phone." Open Arms also is considering offering transitional housing. Whereas its emergency shelter allows survivors to stay for about 30 days, transitional housing could accommodate clients for perhaps nine months to a year. "But we have to make sure we do our research properly and determine if that's needed," Ritz said. "We have seen that as a need in the past, but we're not sure if it still is a need." Transitional housing would likely have other programs involved like education in managing finances. Wilin: 419-427-8413