Problems the SOS Shelter tries to deal with are truly a niche, in regards to this area, and legislation in general. Not many directly benefit from such an organization, at least not as many as organizations like Boys and Girls Club, Hope dispensary or many educational based organizations. It's truly a niche, a problem that many don't face (at least via reports to police). Is it an important issue at all if only certain individuals benefit?
In Endicott, over 10,000+ Calls were placed to the police, out of these calls, 10% of them were domestic violence related, Broome had a report of 40,000+ calls, of which over 1000 were domestic violence related. But legislation, nor many parts of the community reflects this problem. As the presenters for the SOS Shelter said on Tuesday, it wasn't until recently police could actually do something about domestic violence besides telling the perpetrator to go take a walk and cool off . It made me really think about our Culture towards Domestic Violence, and made me wonder if we really take it all that seriously.
Last year, a bill went to the House of Representatives called the Violence Against Women Act, and it was voted down. It was originally brought up in 1994, and received 195 votes against it. Earlier this year the bill was reauthorized, and received 138 votes against it, even though that's less than 195, it still speaks volumes on how we act in regards to women in danger 20 YEARS LATER.
The SOS shelter is fighting an uphill battle, quite frankly the welfare of women is not of any priority right now in America, and quite frankly, I myself was guilty of giving the issue any real consideration. As i'm sure everyone who knows me know, I mainly focused on issues in regards to education, because that is one of the major problems I see in the youth and area I grew up around. But i'm 100% sure there were many of victims of domestic violence that I walked by everyday, said hi to, bought things from, and generally grew up with.
The SOS Shelter receives women and children from here, but also most of the major cities here in NY (Syracuse, Buffalo, NYC, etc.,), when other organizations dealing with this issue have an overflow of applicants. SOS Shelter is often the go to organization. This is also indicative of our culture. Women and Children in dangerous domestic situations do not have many places to go. I often wonder if an organization like habitat for humanity ever looks at this, and think about building a house for such situations as domestic violence.
What do you all think, is this an uphill battle? Are the tides shifting, albeit slowly? What possible solutions do you think should be engaged? Is this just a niche community need, and therefore not really worth our time or money?
Derrick,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. I thought that you brought a completely new topic into a discussion that was centered mostly on education and children. The blog posts that I was expecting for this week were those that would directly have to do with the grant decisions, and which organizations you felt deserved money. However, I felt that this post was a refreshing change.
As far as your questions go, I do think that the SOS Shelter is fighting an uphill battle, but I do not believe that the situation is as bleak as you describe it to be. I believe that if the issue was not one of importance, that the bill would not have made its way to capitol hill, much less have been voted on, on the floor of the House of Representatives. With that being said, I certainly believe that the tides are shifting, however slowly, they are shifting. In our country's history, issues of importance have never been addressed overnight. I believe that the fact that the "Violence Against Women Act" has been voted on twice in less than twenty years, means that our country, and our society as a whole recognizes how important this issue is.
Personally, I do not believe that this is just a community, state, or even a national need. I believe that the guarantee of security is a right that every single citizen on this earth deserves. It is for this reason that we owe our support, financially and otherwise to both this organization and the cause as a whole. This will allow us to ensure that the issue continues to be recognized by our country, and hopefully, can eventually be remedied.
Derrick, I like how you highlighted the direct problem that the SOS Shelter tries to combat. In our classes we talked a lot about education but now that we have chosen organizations that deal with other issues, it's important to spend some time talking about them. If we were looking at this issue through Maslow's hierarchy of needs then the SOS Shelter would be an organization to support because it targets basic need, shelter and safety. I agree with Max when he says that security should be a right for citizens but we don't see that everywhere and as our country is slowly working to resolve the issue of domestic violence we should stand behind organizations like the SOS Shelter which is there for women when they are in need. As the SOS Shelter mentioned in their presentation, Broome County is going to face a decrease in the police force, we can't allow domestic violence to increase, we should financially support the means to keep women and children safe.
ReplyDeleteDerrick, you bring up a very interesting point about working with Habitat for Humanity to provide shelter for victims of domestic violence. Habitat for Humanity is a rather popular and large organization that could bring more attention to women in need, that attention could potentially help alleviate the abuse in our communities.
Cassie, I like how you brought up Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it is a very interesting way of looking at this. If we were to focus on Maslow's hierarchy, as opposed to community needs, we would be giving to the SOS shelter, Soup and Sandwich, and possibly the Hope Dispensary. Three organizations that are very different, but help community members to meet their basic needs, health, nutrition and safety. However, two of these organizations are focused on poverty, an issue that is prevalent in this community, but not something that we ever discussed in class. And the SOS shelter helps women that are involved in domestic violence, a very scary issue. In regards to the SOS shelter, I would like to mention that their social worker, Carrie, spoke to my Community Mental Health class this past Thursday night. She showed us a documentary called "Telling Amy's Story." It was a detective narrating the film, and retelling the story of a woman named Amy who was killed in a domestically violent relationship. I think it is important for us to keep in mind that a lot of domestic violent cases go unknown because these women are in fear of their safety and worry that if they report their significant other, that it will make their situation worse. The SOS shelter is a secret place where these women can run away and deal with the situation in a safe, protected place. I really think that we should help the SOS shelter implement better security.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, in regards to Adam's post, I find it very interesting that you are sharing with us reasons to NOT donate to each finalist organization. These reasons not to donate are definitely things to keep in mind, and it's hard to believe that there are so many negatives to the organizations that the class chose as finalists. It makes me wish that we had a little bit more time to consider and vote for the finalists. Personally, I really wish we could have had the chance to donate to the Discovery Center, but I think people's emotions, and rash decisions drove the choosing of these six finalists. And in all honesty, I feel hesitant to donate to any of them except for the Family Enrichment Network and that is not just because I did the site visit, but as a result of looking over their Form 990.
I used Charity Navigator to help me calculate how FEN uses their money, and as it turns out, less than 10% of their budget is used for operating costs. They are spending more than 90% of their budget directly on programming and that convinces me that they are smart with their money, and I would trust donating there. I also have a place in my heart for children and I really liked our site visit. Their facility is a little bit run down, their play ground is limited and I think that they could use a few thousand dollars to spice their outdoor play space a little bit.
Anywhoooo, I have been rambling for quite a while....it'll be interesting to see what happens in class on Tuesday. I have a feeling things are going to get a little bit out of hand.....
I am clearly confused...I'm not sure where I meant to comment...I touched upon points in both Adam and Derrick's post. Regardless, I enjoyed reading both posts.
DeleteThank you to all who replied. I began thinking about this as I was leaving the shelter last week. I want to harp on a point Hannah had made, domestic violence reports probably don't count for nearly half of the actual incidents occurring. Our society has truly taken a back seat to issues regarding women in more than this issue area. The one thing that captured my attention in regards to the SOS shelter was their willingness to except others from other areas of NY and not just Broome. The individuals there truly care about what they do, and the police officers in the area treat SOS as their little sister. It's unfortunate however, that the police force is being downsized and wont be able to provide the same level of surveillance and protection. But as you said Hannah, it will be interesting to see what happens in class.
ReplyDeleteDerrick, I am really happy you decided to dedicate your blog post to speaking about domestic violence. Like Max, I expected all posts leading up to decision day to be focused on one of the six finalists, and while you mention the SOS Shelter you also discuss an even greater issue. Today is the first time I have ever learned about the Violence Against Women Act, and I am appalled to hear that it has been voted down twice. Max argues that progress is slowly being made but I'd like to focus on why it isn't being made fast enough. When we look at the individuals who ultimately make decisions regarding the country, we sometimes forget they are men who may not understand the plight of women. They either don't understand, or simply don't care enough, or maybe it's even a combination of the two. In order for bills like the Violence Against Women Act to pass, women will need the support of men and women alike to have their voices heard.
ReplyDeleteWorking with the SOS Shelter during this application process has taught me a great deal about the many services and networks available to battered women. On the SOS Shelter official website they provide a link to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and on the Voices Against Violence page, which can be found under the Take Action tab, it lists celebrities that have joined the campaign against domestic violence. Under the Legislators and Political Leaders section one would find a significant number of supporters from both the Senate and House of Representatives, so it is clear that political support exits, but much more is needed in order to create a difference. It then becomes the responsibility of citizens like ourselves to place pressure on elected officials to ensure that a change is made.