It's been a time of growth at the Women's Freedom Center, and some of the bigger shifts are benefiting our smallest guests.
While support of resident kids has always been our collective work, the addition of a children's advocate last fall has dramatically enhanced what we can offer youth during their stay in our shelter.
When kids flee domestic violence with their moms, some of their first needs are similar: a sense of safety - clearly - and a chance just to get their bearings in a new place, often without most of their familiar belongings.
Then begins the gradual process of healing, sorting through feelings about what's happened, and trying to achieve a slow return of normalcy.
March is Women's History Month, and we're happy this year to celebrate some colorful history of our own: the 25th annual Women's Film Festival is happening from March 11 to 20 in Brattleboro. This beloved fundraiser for our Women's Freedom Center features 38 films by women from around the...
While Valentine's Day gets all the hype in February, it's also Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month - a good time to explore particular challenges for teens facing such abuse. One in three teens in the U.S. has experienced some form of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from a partner,
Not every milestone makes the news of course, but some deserve public notice. We hope that, just as many of you helped mark our 40th anniversary, you'll also come celebrate our 25th Annual Women's Film Festival in March (check out womensfilmfestival.org). This month, however, we reached a subtle but no-less-significant marker: five years ago, we changed our name from Women's Crisis Center to Women's Freedom Center, and at the start of this new year, it's worth revisiting why. * *
Good conversations might ease a hard day or change entire lives, and we're fortunate to witness a wide range of healing conversations - not just between advocates and women in crisis, but among survivors themselves. One example is our free and confidential Wednesday Support Group, which meets weekly from noon to 1 p.m. and is open to all women who have experienced domestic violence. Because it's a drop-in group, women are free to just come once, or come occasionally, or...
It's that time of year again! A few yellow and red leaves are starting to come out, the air in the morning feels a bit cooler, and river swimming is squeezed in before it is too late; summer is slowly fading into fall, and students and teachers have returned to school for another year. Schools are not only places where students are taught to think critically and gain necessary skills for the future. There, young people can face a slew...
Batterers are opportunistic in finding ways to control their partner, so it's no surprise that household pets, too, might be targets for harm. Abusers often direct their violence at anyone or anything a victim loves, whether to coerce her while she's still in the relationship or to punish her for getting out. For many women, this violence or threat presents an added barrier to leaving, unless there's a safe haven for their pets, too. About a third of survivors have...
When people hear horror stories of domestic violence, so often their first thought is, “Why doesn't the victim just leave?” This question tends to assume that: 1) She can, 2) She hasn't tried, 3) Doing so will make her safer, and 4) It might help end the bigger social problem. But what our area's recent spike in domestic violence murders highlights is that for most victims, leaving doesn't instantly spell freedom, and for some, the “choice” is pared down to...