Domestic Violence Resources

If you are being abused, please know that you are not alone. 

Help is available via the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-799-SAFE | 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) | http://www.thehotline.org

Established in 1996 as part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the hotline’s skilled advocates provide 24/7 confidential and anonymous phone support, referrals, and immediate crisis intervention services in 170 languages for anyone who calls in: survivors, family, friends, and community members.

The advocates will first listen to you: you understand your situation better than anyone else, and they know—and respect—this deeply. You will not be pressured to do anything, but when you are ready, they can help you to find and connect with local resources (e.g. shelters for survivors and their pets). They can help you create a safety plan. They can help you find your way to a safe place.

If someone you know is being abused and you don’t know what to do or say, help is available at the Hotline for that, too. Advocates can help teachers, parents, friends, and even acquaintances find resources and ways to reach out to someone who is being abused. Programs on dating and relationships geared especially for teens and young adults are available as well at loveisrespect.org.

If you are hurting the people you love and you want to break the cycle you’re trapped in, help is also available for you at the Hotline. Advocates are trained to serve every caller with compassion, and they will treat you with respect and dignity. They can provide referrals to programs and resources designed to help you learn to respond to the people around you without resorting to violence or controlling behaviors.

Domestic violence—family violence, intimate violence, by whatever name one wishes to call what happens when love between good people turns sullen and mean—hurts everyone involved and does considerable damage to society as well. But breaking the cycle is hellishly hard work, especially if we have gotten trapped in patterns that kill human dignity and turn love into control and rage. Finding ways to return to respect and kindness takes a whole village, and the Hotline is the clearinghouse or hub of these efforts for the U.S. Please reach out to them if you have any questions or need for their services.

Share this