Rowland

Today, across the nation, people of all genders, races, ethnicities, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds will wake up questioning their safety and wellbeing. Not from a natural disaster or illness but from the threat that they will be hurt by an intimate partner or family member.

This is the reality for millions of people living in our country. We estimate that 1 in 3 women and 1and 4 men in America will experience intimate partner violence within their lifetime. Many report that the first time they experienced violence was before age 18.

As difficult as these statistics are to comprehend, these numbers actually reflect a dramatic decline in reports of domestic violence in the twenty years since the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994. This improvement is a direct outcome of increased awareness and the tireless efforts of advocates and organizations across every state to end domestic and sexual violence.

Our efforts are working, but there is still so much more work to do.

Here at Saving Grace—Central Oregon’s only domestic and sexual violence organization—we have been supporting survivors for 47 years. In that time, we’ve answered more than 53,000 helpline calls, served more than 47,000 individuals and provided more than 66,000 safe nights to survivors and their families.

We are here for the survivor calling to make a safety plan to leave their home. We are here for the shelter resident who needs to talk in the middle of the night after a terrifying and realistic nightmare. We are here for the young man in a same sex relationship who’s been abused and is unsure of where to turn. We are here for the mother with children who is making a new life while navigating the legal system.

Saving Grace is here for survivors, whoever you are, whatever you have been through—with more than 15,000 services provided last year.

And as we honor National Domestic Violence Awareness month this October, we are so grateful to our community, to our funders and to our partners in law enforcement for your ongoing support in the midst of our complex and challenging work with survivors. Your support enables Saving Grace to offer preventative education and outreach services throughout Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson tri-county region.

These services include our bilingual 24-hour helpline where survivors can speak with a safe and trained member of our team to access a wide range of services, including emergency safe shelter, crisis intervention and safety planning, assistance navigating the legal system, community resources and referrals, and counseling services.

We also continue to welcome survivors into our eight-bedroom emergency shelter where residents receive food, clothing, hygiene items, case management, resources and counseling. And our advocates are here to support survivors through the legal process—helping to navigate both criminal and civil matters, offering emotional support and help filing necessary paperwork for restraining orders and taking other important legal steps.

Domestic Violence Awareness month is a time to raise awareness, a time for partners to re-commit to their shared value that violence has no place in our community, and a time for us to celebrate the freedom from violence that so many survivors have achieved.

That freedom is worth our devotion. Please take a moment to visit our website to understand the role you can play in providing access to safety for the thousands of community members in Central Oregon experiencing domestic violence. Just go to saving-grace.org.

And if you or someone you love is experiencing violence or feels unsafe in their relationship, please reach out to us at 541-389-7021.