The Shelter for Abused Women & Children celebrated peace, Oct. 18, 2017, with a white dove release during National Domestic Violence Month. Our thanks to White Doves of Naples for their gift of providing 12 white doves for the ceremony. After they are released, the doves are trained to fly back to their home in the Golden Gate Estates.
The Shelter for Abused Women & Children Immokalee Outreach Office held its 18th Annual Peace Fair, Oct. 23, 2017, at the Immokalee Sports Complex. Full story
By Alexi C. Cardona
Photos by Liam James Doyle
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At its 18th annual Peace Fair in Immokalee, the Shelter for Abused Women and Children asked attendees what peace means to them.
Some wrote on Post-It notes that family and their children were their peace. Others wrote love, equality and freedom. One person wrote that there was peace in wishing well for others.
These messages were placed on posters hanging from fences at the Immokalee Sports Complex during Monday afternoon’s event, which was organized by the shelter. The Peace Fair rounded out the shelter’s events for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Peace starts at home,” said Linda Oberhaus, the shelter’s executive director and CEO. “If you’re not safe in your own home, no one in the community will be safe.”
Children played on a bounce house and pet a miniature pony. Students from area schools painted pumpkins and did other crafts. A dozen white doves were released at the event.
Shelter representatives told attendees that sometimes people think finding peace is dependent on other people or factors outside our control. They encouraged people to think about what makes them feel at peace and make the changes around them that are necessary to achieve that goal.
Several community partners, including the PACE Center for Girls and the Southwest Florida Chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse, were at the event to teach people about their resources.
The bikers act as guardians for abused children. They form friendships with kids who might be afraid to testify in court against their abusers and show up when a kid calls, even if it’s at 3 a.m. because the child had a nightmare.
“Our goal is to empower children to not be afraid of the world in which they live and to give them a sense of security after experiencing abuse,” said Chico, the president of the bikers’ Southwest Florida chapter. For their safety and that of the kids they work with, members don’t provide their real names, he said.
The shelter helps children and women who experienced domestic violence or human trafficking.
A new domestic violence shelter is set to break ground in Immokalee in summer 2018. Shelter spokeswoman Kaydee Tuff said they are about halfway to their fundraising goals. The new shelter will have an entire wing dedicated to helping human trafficking victims, she said. The shelter opened its Immokalee office in 1997.
“It’s important for us to be here and for people in this community to know the resources that are available for them if they need help,” Oberhaus said.
Anyone who is experiencing domestic violence and needs help can call the Shelter for Abused Women and Children at 1-800-500-1119.
By Joe Landon
Correspondent, The Collier Citizen
Right before the start of the school year, about 50 teachers from Avalon Elementary were given the opportunity to tour and learn more about The Shelter for Abused Women & Children.
“(It) was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my teaching career,” said Christine Brady, a fifth grade teacher. “It was very emotional, but seeing first-hand where some of our students live, and hearing about the situations they endure, helped shape me into an even more compassionate teacher.”
We are telling you about it today because October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time for us to focus on the problems of domestic abuse and human trafficking and to learn about what’s being done to deal with them.
“Each year we organize an event for our staff to help them find out more about our community,” said Avalon’s principal, Jessica Campbell. “Unfortunately, we have students who are affected by domestic violence in some way, and by touring the Shelter, our teachers and other staff were better able to understand what kinds of resources are available while also becoming more familiar with what people might experience at the Shelter.”
The Shelter’s Children’s Services Supervisor, Vail Fisher, said that “the idea behind the tour was to instill additional tools within each teacher’s tool belt. The teachers learned how to assess situations and determine how they should be properly handled.”
They even took part in an exercise where they worked in groups and were given a stack of cards with a different example of domestic violence printed on each card. They then prioritized the examples listed on the cards ranking them from worst case to least offensive case. What they quickly learned was that each case is just as serious as the next and that trauma and violence should never be underestimated and must always be taken seriously.
During the school visit, Shelter CEO Linda Oberhaus greeted the group and discussed the Shelter’s role in the community.
She explained that “the Shelter’s mission is to prevent, protect and prevail over domestic violence and human trafficking through advocacy, empowerment and social change.”
Putting the problem in perspective, nationwide, one in four women will fall victim to domestic violence in their lifetime. Locally, there were 1,607 reports of domestic violence in Collier County including the cities of Naples and Marco Island this past year alone. The Shelter answered 1,516 calls to its 24-hour Crisis Hotline (at 239-775-1101) and provided actual emergency shelter to 220 adults and 165 children.
If you’d like to learn more about how The Shelter for Abused Women & Children is making a difference, or if you would like to volunteer or help in any way, please visit www.naplesshelter.org. You’ll find a list of Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities there as well.
Joe Landon is a communications consultant having retired as executive director of communications for the Collier County School District. Please send suggestions for future columns to JoeLandon@Outlook.com.
