Domestic violence is tragically all too common. As many as one in four women and one in seven men have experienced some kind of domestic violence. But there is hope. Locally, the Verde Valley Sanctuary has helped victims for over 30 years. Jessye Johnson, executive director of the Verde Valley Sanctuary, knows that these topics are difficult to discuss, but that the price of not talking about them is far too high. “If you don’t talk about them out loud, they tend to not get addressed, and people often think that they might be the only ones suffering from them, or that there aren’t resources available to help them. My message would be to talk about them. Find someone that can help. We’re here to help. You can call us,” says Jessye. “You don’t have to suffer alone.”
Here’s specifically how the nonprofit helps people: The sanctuary takes crisis calls, assists with the civil court system, offers support groups, runs emergency shelters that sleeps up to 32 and transports victims to shelters or transitional housing. The organization also runs three thrift stores in the area. Sales help fund their free services. The Sanctuary provides educational programs in libraries and schools throughout the Verde Valley. Programs are tailored to age groups and cover a variety of topics including red flags, self esteem and bullying.
“That prevention program is actually our second oldest program, next to the emergency shelter, so we’re hoping that that program actually puts us out of business,” says Jessye. Last year, the Sanctuary served about 1,300 survivors across all its programs. The nonprofit is also growing. It has a new site in Cottonwood where it plans to help victims of sexual assault with a family advocacy center. The center will assist law enforcement in investigations by giving victims better access to forensic medical exams. “We’re all affected by domestic and sexual violence, and the Verde Valley Sanctuary, we’re the only provider in the region,” she says. “We’ve been doing this work for a long time, and we do it really, really well. Either through donating your time or your money or through tangible goods is an excellent way to show support to the cause or as a way to support somebody that maybe you know has been affected.” – Teresa K. Traverse
