![[Image]](stmarys-womens-ctr.gif) |
ST.
MARY'S WOMEN'S CENTER Serving the needs of women in St. Mary's County 2075 Great Mills
Road, Suite 106 Functions and Objectives |
FUNCTIONS The St. Mary's Women's Center's function is to assess and provide needed support and services to the women of St. Mary's County. Although the Center focuses its efforts on the victim of domestic violence who is seeking protection and relief from abuse, we are also involved in trying to break the cycle of dependency and encouraging women (especially single parents) to become selfreliant. The Center views the family unit as a whole and will also assist men who request its services. The St. Mary's Women's Center is the only St. Mary's County provider of legal resources for victims of violence seeking protection from abuse in civil court. The heart of our effort is targeted to maintaining and expanding those legal and related services that provide many options to victims looking for solutions to life issues. Victim issues can revolve around seeking safety, building a new life, whether it be within the traditional family unit or on their own, and promoting the realization that home should be a place of security and peace, not fear and violence. ACTIVITIES Current major activities of the Women's Center are: 1. Legal Assistance: With a grant from the Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC), the Center provides funds to attorneys who assist victims of domestic violence seeking protection through the courts. MLSC funds are supplemented by private donations to help with transportation, emergency housing, and other needs of these clients. In addition, the Center is able to refer clients on AFDC, the working poor, or those who meet the low-income guidelines, to one of several legal pr ogr ams depending on the situation of the individual. Legal programs which may be utilized on behalf of the client are:
2. Lay Legal Advocate Program for Victims of Domestic Violence: This is a significant program at the Center. The program trains Advocates to assist victims of domestic violence by guiding them through the legal system, obtaining ex parte orders, providing protection hearing information and options, taking victim/witness statements,, preparing safety plans, and accompanying clients to court. Lay Legal Advocates also coordinate help from various sources to meet client needs in other areas; e.,g., housing, counseling. Advocates are trained in communication and listening skills, domestic violence an family dynamics, court procedures and forms, and related issues from qualified psychologists, representatives from local agencies, and attorneys. 3. Support Groups: Support groups meet at the Center. An adult survivors of incest meets on a regular basis as does a support group for ending relationships. The latter group deals with break-up of marriages, friendships, and other relationships that cause one or the other of the involved parties stress and difficulty in adjustment. Other support groups meet periodically throughout the year. 4. Crisis Intervention/management: The Women's Center maintains a specific fund of emergency monies donate by the citizens of this community for the designated purpose of providing support for people in crisis. The number of requests received by the Center for help with homeless people, lack of food, heat, or electricity remains fairly constant; however, the complexity of these cases requires innovative and coordinated efforts to solve. The real victims in cases in crisis are the children. What their parents do, or do not do,impacts on the children who have no control over their lives. Providing the financial immediate needs of the client is only a temporary solution. In responding to these requests the Center's staff coordinates assistance with other communi ty agencies (e.g., Social Services, Tri-County Community Action, Walden/Sierra, various churches and other charitable o rg an i z a t i ons . Clients are encouraged to make initial contacts themselves upon referral by the Center to another agency; however, staff provides whatever additional assistance may be required to ensure the client's needs are met. 5. Support to Re-entry Students: Women seeking to return to school for more education or training frequently come to the Center for guidance. One way the Center has responded to this need is the development and printing of a booklet of information on scholarships available to women. Also, we maintain a resource library for our clients in our meeting , resource room . This library contains i n f o rmation on several topics including traditional and non-traditional means to an education. 6. Domestic Violence Education: The Executive Director of the Center is often asked to speak on the issue of violence in the home and legal options of relief in the community. Information regarding domestic violence has been developed and printed by the Women's Center on a tear-off pad and distributed to the Sheriff's Department , St. Mary 's Hospital, doctor's offices and county libraries. In addition, The Executive Director was among the trainers for area judges at the Maryland State Judicial Training on Domestic Violence. Moreover, as a member of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence and on the Executive Board of that coalition, she was instrumental in planning the judicial training. 7. Information and Referral: The Women's Center maintains a comprehensive referral system for local and state resources . If we are unable to access i n f o rma t i on for a c1ient through our on site network, we will obtain the information and re-contact the client with the requested i n f o rma t i on and referral . Our resource library has a varied reading and information index, with an emphasis on domestic violence. Our resource library is open to donations from the public on any re1evant title or video related to women and/or family issues. 8. Legislative and Legal Advocacy Civil court work in the area of domestic violence is very under-funded. Advocacy on behalf of the work at the center in the state legislature is an important part of our work. It directly impacts on what we do, our funding resources, and also brings awareness of the issues surrounding protection of the victim. Attention is on the criminal side of domes t i c v i ol enc e , and on shelter, but often the victim needs other means of protection while she takes the time to assess what she wants to do and the steps to attain her goal. She must determine the course of her life. In situations where the violence is not deep rooted, and the marriage salvageable if both parties desire it and are willing to obtain counseling for t hemselves and the extended fami 1 y , civil court orders are the least threatening time out for the family unit. The Center is active in building awareness with funding sources and legislatures in the need for more funds to address this avenue to domestic violence resolution. OBJECTIVES A Primary ongoing objective of the Women's Center is to be proactive in developing programs and services which meet the most pressing needs of St. Mary's County women. This requires periodic assessment to determine what those needs are and how they may be changing. As reported to the County Commissioners in 1993 the Center commissioned Dr. J. Roy Hopkins senior seminar class at St. Mary's College to conduct a needs survey for us . Results of the assessment were presented to the Women's Center in December, 1992. The assessment results indicated family crisis/domestic violence as the area of greatest need for services. This report was important in the development of our program as they are today. It provided the catalyst for our increasing work in domestic violence and a realization that continued education through workshops and seminars is an important component in the self-growth of the individual. The assessment also strongly suggested that there is a very real need for career development and counseling at a level higher then entry level training in both traditional an non-traditional roles. In addition, there was a perceived need for workshops in career development, health issues such as cancer and menopause, and parenting skills as the next topics of interest for workshops. |
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