Seattle-Area Abuse Shelter May Close
No word if the shelter serves male DV victims…
Domestic Violence Shelter in Kent may Close
By CHRIS GRYGIEL
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
A shelter that works with victims of domestic violence in King County may close this week unless it can raise enough money to continue operations.
Safe Havens, located in Kent, focuses on keeping adult and child victims of domestic violence safe during court-ordered visitation or exchanges. The shelter opened in January of 2005 with help from federal funding. Since then, Safe Havens has relied on a combination of federal dollars, as well as funding from the state, King County and the City of Kent. But government has had to cut back at all levels because of tax revenues are down substantially during the Great Recession.
Merril Cousin, the executive director of the King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she was confident that eventually a stable funding source could be found for the approximately $300,000 annual budget for Safe Havens. But unless about $50,000 can be raised through donations by the end of April, the shelter will have to close, at least temporarily, she said.
“What we need in the short-term is individuals and businesses stepping up and making contributions,” she said. Right now the shelter is run by the City of Kent, Cousin said, but in the coming months it may shift to a non-profit status. Cousin praised Kent and other governments who have been able to keep the shelter going over the past several years and acknowledged the tough times they are facing. “It’s a very difficult time financially.”
The City of Kent has established a fund for the shelter. Checks can be made payable to City of Kent/Safe Havens and mailed to Safe Havens Visitation Center, 220 4th Ave S, Kent, WA 98032. Donations via credit card can also be made online at www.formdesk.com/kccadv/SafeHavens. Donations are tax deductible.
Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/419058_shelter26.html
| More from Abusegate Bob
Stumble It!
King County had a hand out about DV that was filled with myths. The wrote, in bold letters, that the reason they used him and he is that it’s because almost all abuse is from men.
I am 100 percent certain that those who empahasized that point are the same kinds of people who for the benefit of girls claim that men and women died in Viet Nam defending our country when it was over 58,000 men and only 8 women. I saw this a few years ago while in Seattle. If your readers don’t know there is a Seattle Attorney Lisa Scott that has a website TABS and comments about unfair laws regarding men in family law. She has written great articles about DV. Google same.
Seattle has continued to be a safe haven for many women who repeatedly misuse and manipulate the system for their own personal agendas. VAWA funds billions of taxpayer dollars to combat violence against women, but in practice, VAWA ignores many Constitutional rights and brought about widespread civil rights violations, including gender discrimination, denial of due process, and disregard of the presumption of innocence. Standards for obtaining restraining orders do not include actual verified evidence of physical harm — filling out the form correctly may be sufficient. Loosely defined terms for what constitutes DV have caused undue hardship and punishment upon many men for minor offenses and/or most any marital or partner discord, e.g., loud or raised voice. False allegations have risen fourfold under VAWA and our legal system has become overwhelmed with minor and false claims, diverting resources away from the true victims of domestic violence. In addition, VAWA promotes “pro-arrest” and “primary/dominant/ predominant aggressor” laws, policies and practices which undermine fundamental standards of probable cause and lead to gender profiling which result in a disproportionate negative impact on low-income communities. We want to better protect both women and men from acts of physical aggression and violence, but VAWA is more about retaining power and money for certain interest groups rather than being effective and doing the job. Insist that VAWA regulations promote justice and equal protection for all its citizens.