NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020
Domestic Violence
Services helping survivors
through pandemic
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
October is Domestic Violence Aware-
ness Month, and Domestic Violence Ser-
vices wants people to know the nonprofit
is still going strong during the pandemic.
“We are here for people every day, 24
hours a day,” Director Kathryn Chaney
said.
DVS, which provides services for
Umatilla and Morrow counties, is consid-
ered an essential service and was able to
operate its shelters for victims of domes-
tic violence throughout the year. Chaney
said the nonprofit has made adjustments
for more social distancing and cleaning in
shelters and in its offices, and offers many
more virtual options for events.
“We held two online trainings since
the pandemic started for our crisis line
volunteers, and they were very success-
ful,” Chaney said. “We got several new
volunteers.”
The crisis line, at 800-833-1161, is
available 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, year-round. Chaney said volun-
teers can talk to people about an immedi-
ate crisis, but also sometimes people also
just want someone to talk to about the
pain they’re experiencing, or they want
to explore their options if they were to
decide to leave their abuser.
“They may not feel they have the
option to leave now, but we can do safety
planning for if the situation escalates,”
she said.
Domestic Violence Services is also
running several support groups via Zoom.
Some are for survivors of domestic vio-
lence, others focus on survivors of sexual
abuse specifically.
There are also groups for people with
family members, friends or coworkers
who are experiencing domestic violence.
Chaney said sometimes people struggle
with watching the person they care about
go through abusive situations, and they
want to know how best to talk with that
person about the situation without push-
ing them away by being judgmental.
People can also call the DVS advocacy
centers in Hermiston, Pendleton, Board-
man, Milton-Freewater and Heppner.
Chaney said DVS has learned a lot
through the pandemic, and while it has
been an adjustment doing more things
virtually and over the phone, it has also
A Ridgeway
Village apartment
building was
damaged by fire
on Oct. 4, 2020. No
one was injured
in the blaze but
residents lost their
homes.
GET HELP
The 24/7 Domestic Violence Services
crisis line is 1-800-833-1161.
been a benefit, particularly for reaching
people who are more isolated in rural
areas of the counties.
Chaney said the pandemic’s effects
on domestic violence, particularly in the
spring when people were mostly stuck at
home, have been concerning to advocates.
However, she said there hadn’t been a big
surge in requests for shelter.
Reports on domestic violence during
the spring shutdown in Oregon were a
mixed bag. The East Oregonian reported
the Pendleton Police Department had seen
a 50% increase in calls during April 2020
compared with April 2019 for all domes-
tic offenses, such as assault, harassment
and menacing, while Hermiston Police
Department reported that domestic vio-
lence calls were down 27% in April.
Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston
said at the time that domestic violence
calls make up a small enough volume of
calls for departments of Hermiston and
Pendleton’s size that a small change in
numbers can create a large percentage
increase or decrease.
Chaney said there has been some addi-
tional state funding available due to the
pandemic, including personal protective
equipment available to shelters and a pro-
gram that assists domestic violence vic-
tims affected by COVID-19 with their
utility bills.
While DVS has canceled its usual
in-person soup dinner fundraiser for
Domestic Violence Awareness Month,
the nonprofit is holding an online auction
to raise funds. Bids can be placed online
between 8 a.m. on Oct. 28 and 7 p.m. on
Nov. 4. They are also selling raffle tick-
ets for a five-night stay at a resort in
Palm Springs, California. To register for
the auction or the raffle, visit dvs.or-org
or the Domestic Violence Services, Inc.
Facebook page.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, DVS is hold-
ing an online informational presenta-
tion on the effects of domestic violence
on children from 5:30-7 p.m. To register
to attend, email education@dvs-or.org or
call 541-276-3322.
Jade McDowell/Hermiston Herald
Displaced residents
describe apartment fire
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Residents displaced by
a fire at Ridgeway Village
apartments in Hermiston on
Oct. 4 say they are still strug-
gling to recover after losing
their homes.
According to Umatilla
County Fire District No. 1,
the district responded to the
apartments at 2:13 a.m. on
Oct. 4 to find “heavy fire”
coming out of the first-floor
apartment and extending into
the upstairs unit and eaves
of the roof. Altogether, two
apartments were damaged
by fire and two by smoke
and water damage. The dis-
trict also had to put holes in
the building in some places
to attack the fire.
Linda R. Schoen, who
lives in the apartment above
where the fire apparently
started, said she had gotten
home and was “just trying to
unwind” before getting into
bed when she heard a com-
motion outside.
She said she has a neigh-
bor with apparent mental ill-
ness issues who frequently
yells outside late at night, and
at first, she thought it was just
that neighbor’s usual ruckus.
Then she realized the woman
was shouting the word “fire.”
“I thought, ‘I’d better
look,’ and I opened my win-
dow and smoke was pouring
out the window,” she said.
She ran downstairs and
saw flames, so she pulled out
her phone and called 911.
She was so worried, she said,
she couldn’t remember her
own apartment number when
the dispatcher asked.
She said she ran back
upstairs to get her dog, and
then realized she had better
pound on all the doors and
windows in the building to
make sure everyone got out.
Mariza Altaf was one of
those neighbors. She had
fallen asleep with the televi-
sion and a fan turned up loud
in anticipation of the usual
nighttime yelling episodes,
but couldn’t ignore Schoen’s
insistent knocking and yell-
ing that there was a fire.
“I ran out in my under-
wear,” she said. “Linda was
yelling, ‘Get out, the build-
ing’s on fire.’ Every bone
in my body was a noodle. I
don’t know how I did any-
thing, but I grabbed my pants
and my dog and my shoes on
the way out the door.”
She said Schoen was insis-
tent in making sure everyone
got out, pounding on walls
next to people’s bedrooms if
they didn’t come to the door.
Altaf said even though her
apartment and belongings
were severely damaged, she
has a good renter’s insurance
policy and expects to receive
a payout to replace every-
thing she lost. She said she
was worried about Schoen,
who lost everything and does
not have the means to replace
it.
“This woman saved my
life,” she said. “She was my
friend before but now I’m
indebted to her.”
Schoen said the apartment
complex was going to let
her into her apartment to see
what she might be able to sal-
vage, and some people have
offered to donate items. But
right now she is staying in a
small motel room, and said
she doesn’t have any room to
store items or the money to
rent a storage unit. She also
doesn’t know when she will
get into a new apartment, as
HUD was paying for her pre-
vious housing and the wait-
ing list to get into a HUD
apartment is months long.
According to a news
release from UCFD1, no
one was injured because
“the occupants of the apart-
ment complex were very
effective at getting every-
one out before fire crews
arrived.”
The department didn’t
return a call asking about the
fire’s cause.
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Visit https://hermiston.or.us/public-transit
to find out how to sign up, and how WORC and the HART
bus service work together to connect Hermiston.