Tralee Crisis Center Welcomes October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

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Tralee Crisis Center joins the nation in observing October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. One in four women will be the victim of domestic violence at some point in her lifetime, and, on average, three women are killed every day at the hands of a current or former intimate partner. 

“Domestic violence affects us all,” said Dee Dee Laramore, Tralee Crisis Center’s executive director. “In our last fiscal year, Tralee’s advocates and shelter staff assisted more than 300 victims, primarily women and their children.  The victims suffered the direct impact of the crime. But there are other victims, too, including extended families and friends, employers and co-workers, the children’s teachers and school staff, and so many more it is nearly impossible to measure.”

Throughout October, communities across the country will mourn for those whose lives were taken by domestic violence, celebrate the tremendous progress victim advocates have made over the years, and connect with one another with a true sense of unity to end domestic violence.

This year, Tralee Crisis Center is hosting a fundraiser/awareness event, “Boots vs. Badges,” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, in the Pampa High School Field House. Local firefighters will face local law enforcement on the basketball court in a friendly showdown to help raise money for Tralee’s domestic violence program.

The economic downturn has had a devastating effect on local programs working to serve survivors of abuse. While a bad economy does not cause domestic violence, it can make it worse. At the same time, there are fewer options for survivors to escape. According to the 2012 Mary Kay Truth About Abuse Survey, nearly 8 out of ten domestic violence shelters nationwide reported an increase in women seeking help, while the vast majority experienced decreases in funding.

Despite tremendous challenges, domestic violence shelters served nearly 70,000 victims in one day alone, according to the latest National Network to End Domestic Violence Domestic Violence Counts. More than three out of four domestic violence survivors who sought support groups, counseling, supportive services and legal advocacy found these services to be “very helpful,” the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and the University of Connecticut School of Social Work reported.

“I cannot stress enough how serious domestic violence is,” Laramore said. “Through the years, at least five women from the eight counties in our service area have died at the hands of an intimate partner in recent years. One person is too many. Please, if you know of someone who is in a domestic violence situation, tell them to call Tralee Crisis Center. Help is only a phone call away through our 24-hour hotline – 806-669-1788 or 1-800-658-2796.”

Since 1984, Tralee Crisis Center, 310 S. Cuyler, Pampa, has offered comprehensive support services and emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of violent crime in eight counties of the eastern Texas Panhandle – Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hemphill, Roberts and Wheeler.