16
community
october20
2016
SAFE Advocate Helps Victims of
Domestic/Sexual Assault in Vernonia continued from front page
this, especially in rural communities,”
says Stevens. She says the pilot program
is designed to install partnerships with
health clinics in smaller cities, because
St. Helens has the only shelter in Colum-
bia County for people who need a place
to stay. The only domestic violence/sex-
ual assault resource center, and hotline
center are also located in St. Helens.”
Stevens points out that the lack
of public transportation in Columbia
County is just one of many barriers for
someone experiencing domestic vio-
lence that keeps them from accessing
services and getting the help they need.
“It can be difficult for someone in this
situation to get access to a car or even
find the time to make the trip to St. Hel-
ens without their abuser knowing about
it,” explains Stevens.
“And yet,” says Stevens, “there
were still people from Vernonia making
it over to St. Helens that were desper-
ate enough to come and get support, and
SAFE realized there must be a lot more
people who are physically here that can’t
make that trip, but could do something to
help themselves if there were resources
available locally,” says Stevens.
The general lack of resources
in rural settings is another barrier. “In
Columbia County there is not a lot of
shelter space and the funding is limited
and gets used up quickly,” says Stevens.
“If everything is full here or depleted,
someone might have to go over to Hills-
boro or into Portland, where they might
not even be able to get services because
they don’t reside in those counties. The
fact that there are less resources for peo-
ple living out here is really scary for do-
mestic violence and sexual assault situa-
tions.”
Fear of violence is also higher in
a rural setting says Stevens. “In these
situations in rural settings, the chances
for lethality are a lot higher,” she ex-
plains. “It’s a lot more extreme. Abus-
ers are a lot more likely to have access to
firearms. Abusers are more likely to be
able to restrict communications because
there can be limited access or service for
cell phones or the internet. A lot of these
people are in some pretty gruesome situ-
ations and having a lot of really intense
things happening to them. By the time
these people are willing to take the risk
to get away, it is sometimes the last op-
tion they have for their safety or the safe-
ty of their children.”
Stevens also notes the lack of
comprehensive sex education in rural
schools, and also small community size
and fear of being ostracized, as being a
deterrent to seeking help from an abu-
sive relationship. “Everyone knows one
another, everyone is friends with each
other, everyone is related to each other,
and everyone is interactive,” says Ste-
vens. “If a survivor feels like their abus-
er has more pull in the community, that
can stop them from speaking out or say-
ing anything. By speaking out, not only
do they risk tearing apart their immedi-
ate family, they also risk losing friends,
other family, and relationships with busi-
nesses they interact with. And so many
people still blame the victim.”
Partnering with a health clinic
makes sense says Stevens. “When you
think about the things that an abuser will
allow their partner to do, it’s often very
limited,” explains Stevens. “Usually
it’s things like running errands for the
home, child care, and basic health needs.
So it’s difficult to try and find a way to
create an intervention space within that
very limited scope of activity that a sur-
vivor is allowed to do, which led to this
partnership with the clinic.”
Stevens says that abusers will
often manipulate and control their part-
ners through reproductive health, preg-
nancies or family health, by either con-
tinually getting a partner pregnant or
forcing them to either stay on, or not
have access to birth control. “Having
access to health care in a clinic is some-
thing a survivor is still able to do,” says
Stevens. “Installing this service here at
the Vernonia Health Center and creating
access to what we call ‘warm hand-offs’
where we can get access to someone
for 20 minutes and give them a chance
to learn more about how they can stay
safe, how they can protect themselves
and their children, how they can get
away and what their options are if that is
something they are interested in.”
If someone is looking for more
information or help for themselves or
someone they know, they can access as-
sistance at the Vernonia Health Center by
walking in and asking to see the Healthy
Relationships Advocate, or calling and
scheduling an appointment. Another op-
tion is to contact the SAFE of Columbia
County hotline where they can receive
immediate assistance and also schedule
an appointment to meet at the Vernonia
clinic. The third option is to ask their
provider for a referral to speak with the
Healthy Relationships Advocate while at
the clinic during another appointment.
Stevens has a varied background
working with survivors of domestic vio-
lence. Following her graduation from
VHS she attended the University of Port-
land, graduating with a degree in Psy-
chology with a focus in Neuroscience.
While at the University of Portland, Ste-
vens began volunteering and received
direct advocacy training from the Port-
land Women’s Crisis Line (now known
as Call to Safety) and worked on the
hotline doing crisis response. She also
spent time working in a women’s home-
less shelter in Portland, before moving
to Americans Overseas Domestic Vio-
lence Crisis Center, where she worked
helping women get back to the United
Meet the Candidates continued from page 11
county roads. “It would more than pay for itself, in fact,
I think it would pay for itself four times.” He also said
he would like to see the County do more chip sealing
on their 600 miles of roads.
Magruder suggested setting aside some money
to cover forecasted increased in their PERS budget and
also to cover deferred maintenance projects. “Deferred
maintenance only gets worse if you continue to defer
it,” said Magruder.
What would you do to address economic develop-
ment and job growth?
Magruder said we need to attract business
and industry and take advantage of the 60 miles of
river front and the deep water port in the County. She
also suggested working with the Port of St. Helens to
provide ready industrial space for businesses to occupy.
She said she would work to develop relationships with
the partners involved in the Oregon Manufacturing and
Innovation Center (OMIC) coming to Scappoose, and
suggested working to develop innovative timber related
products and look for new uses for timber. She said
government can play an important role in attracting the
right businesses to communities and helping nurture
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them.
Mayo said it was not government’s role to
create jobs. “We get out of the way and let private
industry create jobs, they’re the engine of American
enterprise,” said Mayo. He said there are numerous
small manufacturers with about 25 employees that
are being taxed out of Portland that would like to get
out, and suggested the Port of St. Helens create small
parcels of property for them, noting the lower taxes,
less traffic, good infrastructure, and good utility rates as
positive draws for the County. He also suggested good
schools can draw people and business to the County.
Leonetti said it was important to form a
committee of business people to figure out what
businesses we need here and then actively recruit them.
He said we need a variety of businesses, not too many
of the same type of business. He also suggested inviting
more people to visit Vernonia, including bikers, car
clubs and motorcyclists, and build up what we have to
meet their needs.
Tierney said she was not optimistic about
the development of the industrial park on California
Avenue, but that the City should not give up yet. She
said recreational tourism has been a big positive
and expressed interest in finding ways to finish the
CZ Trail connection to Vernonia and develop more
bicycle tourism opportunities. She also noted the
need for a public transportation district to help
make communities livable, and allow older citizens
to stay.
McNair said he agreed in part with Mayo’s
statement that it is not government’s role to create
States who were experiencing domestic
violence or sexual assault while living
abroad.
Stevens says that in the first
month of operations, she has started see-
ing four clients consistently in Vernonia
and has had several other referrals. “We
really weren’t expecting to be this busy,
this fast,” says Stevens, “which is sad,
but also very promising that the program
is going to have a positive impact in the
community.”
The sad, and deeply troubling
reality is that this service – helping
someone in a horrible situation – is need-
ed, and also very taxing on those offer-
ing the assistance. “In the social work/
advocacy field we have a term called
‘self-care,’” explains Stevens. “This is
a strategy by which you recognize your
body’s signals for stress and learn to step
back away from work and do something
relaxing. It can be as small as buying
yourself a chocolate bar or taking a short
walk. Personally I meditate and practice
yoga whenever I start to feel taxed.”
Stevens says it’s important for
survivors of domestic violence and sex-
ual assault to receive support from their
community. “I think the community
needs to remain unbiased and supportive
of a victim,” says Stevens. “I don’t think
it’s effective for the community to turn
against the abuser either. If someone
is saying, ‘I’m being hurt,’ we should
provide them with sanctuary, and un-
derstanding, and try to learn more about
their situation, instead of turning away
and not wanting to get involved.”
You can reach the Vernonia Health Cen-
ter at (503) 429-0622. You can reach
SAFE of Columbia County at (503) 396-
2538 or safeofcolumbiacounty.org. The
SAFE 24-hour crisis hotline number is
(503) 397-6161.
jobs. “But we can do things to make livability good
by working to keep utility rates down, by building a
good school, having a good quality Health Center, and
a Senior Center,” said McNair. He said having the City
provide micro loans to attract or retain businesses was
another strategy.
Wagner praised the Chamber of Commerce
and their efforts to be more active. She said she would
like to revive the Economic Development Committee
and start talking in a formative way about how to
bring more businesses and partnerships to town.
“Vernonia is a vibrant community and a great place
for home based businesses,” said Wagner, noting the
ability to ship products as a positive. She disagreed
with Leonetti, noting the “synergy created by having
multiple businesses of the same type,” and used as an
example that having several antique stores might cause
someone to stop and shop.
Buffum said he is for economic development
and would like to see more businesses move into
the community. He would like to see the City make
allowances and incentivize growth. “I think the City is
small and tries to get as much as they can from anyone
trying to do business here,” said Buffum. “I think we
need to find ways to invite them to come here.” He
said he would like to see the City find a way to use
the empty lots where homes were removed after the
2007 flood. “I know it’s because FEMA is involved,
but things can change and the next thing you know the
rules are different, and maybe we could do something
with those lots.”
