The Sanctuary of Saving Grace

She was living in an abusive 30-year marriage, and didn’t know who she would be if she left. One day, the local woman reached out to a nonprofit – at the time Central Oregon Battering and Rape Alliance – and things began to change. She eventually left the marriage, telling the organization, “You are my saving grace.”

“From my perspective,” said executive director Janet Huerta, “that is who we try to be. We try to be that saving grace for others.”

While Saving Grace provides services for people experiencing sexual assault and family violence, its scope reaches further into the horizon of humankind. In a changing continuum of life, the nonprofit organization strives to cultivate an inspiring and hopeful way to help the world through building healthy relationships.

“We want a world where people treat each other in better and better ways,” said Huerta.

Saving Grace stemmed from a conference in 1975 about rape, held at St. Charles Medical Center. It was decided that at the very least there needed to be a hotline, so volunteers began answering calls.

Incorporated in 1977, the nonprofit received 80 calls on its hotline its first year. Last year, nearly 5,000 calls were made to the 24-hour helpline, resulting in thousands of conversations offering understanding, help, and support to those in difficult situations.

Nearly 40 years after its establishment, Saving Grace has evolved to offer about 20 different services and programs. Those in need can call the helpline, attend support groups, undergo counseling, learn about the psychology of abuse and contact five outreach centers around Central Oregon. Women and children can take safety in a 24-bed shelter, and supervised visitation and exchanges of children for parents’ dealing with domestic violence is available at Mary’s Place in Bend. The services have assisted thousands in the local tri-county area make both big and small changes in their lives.

Amy first called the hotline when she felt that she needed out of her abusive relationship. The person over the phone understood what Amy was feeling, and knew what she was going to say before she even said it.

Life continued for Amy after the call – she gave birth to two children and felt that she had no option but to stay in the relationship. She was scared, and often felt alone. The abuse progressed, culminating in a trip to the hospital when Amy was both bruised and pregnant.

Amy’s husband at the time moved away for work, and she started thinking about what she wanted for her life and her children. Amy became involved in community service to express her love for humanity, and she enrolled in college.

The abuse continued during this time. She called the hotline almost every day, attended the support groups, and occasionally took shelter with Saving Grace. Over time, she began to recognize the controlling and judgmental elements in her relationship, and began to listen to her inner voice.

“Something had fundamentally changed with me,” Amy said, “through my time with Saving Grace and recognizing what abuse is and what it looks like.”

Following a traumatic event that involved the police, Amy took her children and left for the safety of Saving Grace, with nothing but her kids’ hands in her hands.

Saving Grace supported Amy with finding an apartment, accompanying her to the courthouse, and provided counseling through the changes and process of grieving. Amy’s 10-year relationship with her husband ended, but the journey of growth endures as Amy still works with counselors through triggers and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and a deeper understanding of what other women may be experiencing.

“The most important thing to hear right off the bat is that it’s not your fault,” Amy said about what she would share with women in similar situations. “Somehow there is this core belief that it is – but it is not your fault.”

Amy is a survivor, a term used at Saving Grace to denote respect. She is one of many women who incorporated difficult experiences into growth.

The executive director of Saving Grace is also a survivor. At the age of 11, Huerta was kidnapped and raped. Later, she realized that the event had nothing to do with her, but that it happened as part of the criminal thinking and logic justified by those who use violence.

“We need to know in humanity there is all this darkness,” said Huerta, “and it is something all of us have to work on so we can get better and better.”

With Saving Grace since 1998, and executive director since 2008, Huerta has helped to develop many essential programs. A dating violence curriculum is offered in local schools, the Lethality Assessment Program immediately connects those in high-risk domestic violence to Saving Grace, and the Hospital Response team travels to the hospital to support survivors. Saving Grace works in collaboration with other agencies and organizations for some of these programs, expanding resources and impact.

Thirty-three employees, including interns and AmeriCorps workers, in combination with about 125 trained volunteers put these services into action. Since 2009, Saving Grace has been named each year in the top “100 Nonprofits to Work For” by Oregon Business magazine, authenticating the organization’s fundamental purpose of creating better relationships.

Those who experience violence and assault, such as Amy, do not just grapple with physical pain but also with a wounded belief in mankind. Saving Grace offers on-the-ground services within the reality of this world, but the main purpose includes something even greater.

“What we are trying to do in this world,” said Huerta, “is to restore people’s faith in mankind.”