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Letter to the Editor re: Zion Murders
May 19, 2005
Editor The News Sun 2383 N. Delaney Road Waukegan, IL 60087
Letter to the Editor:
Our hearts go out to the family, friends, neighbors and schoolmates of the two young victims of domestic violence from Zion. The entire community – and indeed the nation -is mourning and reeling from the shock of this senseless loss of vibrant and hopeful lives. This is the ultimate tragedy that occurs when domestic violence is not confronted and eliminated from our communities. We know that somewhere between 3.3 and 25 million children each year are living in homes where domestic violence occurs. We know that any time there is partner abuse in a home, the children are affected both in overt and in subtle ways. When a mother is abused, her children see it, hear it, sense it. The children feel confusion, stress and fear. They may suffer eating and sleeping disorders, have headaches, ulcers, depression and anxiety caused by the trauma of witnessing abuse. And we know that children who live in homes where their mothers are battered are 50% more likely to be beaten as well. Overall, the rate of child abuse is from six to fifteen times higher in families where the mother is abused compared to families where there is no abuse. Many battered women report that their abusers threaten or attack the children as a way to control and hurt the mothers even more. Escaping the throes of domestic violence is a complicated and potentially life-threatening situation. The emotional and psychological fears of abuse and intimidation simply paralyze many victims. Add to those the barriers of attaining affordable housing, employment that can sustain her family, accessible transportation, adequate day care, possible health or substance abuse issues, and she faces odds that seem overwhelming when you have been cut off from whatever resources you have had. The sad reality is that many victims of domestic violence who flee end up homeless and must move their children from shelter to shelter, a debilitating reality that can too often end up with the children being removed by authorities because of the unstable situation. A Safe Place’s vision to removing that barrier, to provide the first transitional living program for battered women and their children in Lake County, will open this fall in the Zion community. The initial phase of this project will provide safe, affordable housing and will foster self-sufficiency through onsite programming for 20 women and their children. Transitional housing is another important step in the ongoing comprehensive services of emergency housing, individual and group counseling, children’s counseling, court advocacy and case management that A Safe Place has been providing to Zion residents as well as more than 3,000 other Lake County area residents each and every year. In our 25th year of providing services, A Safe Place, as well as other domestic violence service providers throughout this country, knows that domestic violence does not single out certain areas or demographics. It is a pervasive crime that knows no economic, educational, racial, ethnic, religious or geographical boundaries. As we share the pain and mourn the callous taking of young life, let us join together in the mission to eliminate domestic violence from our communities. Because woman abuse is child abuse, the children of an abused woman are also in need of our careful, loving attention. We must remember these interconnections as we attempt to eradicate family violence through services, education and public policy.
Sincerely,
Phyllis A. DeMott Executive Director A Safe Place/ Lake County Crisis Center
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Everyone has the right to a violence-free, safe and healthy life. Copyright ©2001-2009 A Safe Place. All rights reserved. |
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