Commentary: Programs for Peaceful Living is with survivors, ALWAYS

Programs for Peaceful Living (PFPL) offers support as the local domestic violence resource agency for Klickitat County, serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. For anyone in a crisis, struggling with the effects of domestic violence or sexual assault, a 24-hour crisis hotline is just a phone call away at 844-493-1709.

Care for survivors is free of charge and confidential. Peaceful Living is part of the Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) team. It has two Washington locations for survivors to meet one-on-one with advocates and access to services: 115 W. Steuben St. in Bingen and 116 W. Main St. in Goldendale.

Advocates can also be reached by phone by calling WAGAP at 509-493-2662 and asking for the Programs for Peaceful Living office in Goldendale or Bingen. Office hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Fridays by appointment. 

Services for clients include crisis support, preparing and filing protection orders, court support, one-on-one advocacy, therapy referrals, support groups, medical advocacy, legal advocacy, and safety planning. 

In the past 12 months, Programs for Peaceful Living has served 174 domestic violence clients, providing 1,185 hours of advocacy and 114 hours of support groups, and has sheltered 19 families at our local safe house. 

Part of supporting survivors is understanding what abuse looks like. Domestic violence can start quietly and includes physical, verbal, and mental abuse from a partner or loved one. It may begin as “loving” gestures of wanting to know where you are to make sure you are safe or suggesting what clothes you wear so you are appropriately dressed, and then turn into controlling behaviors of dictating where you go, how you dress, who you see, how you spend your money, and controlling your every move.

Abusers are often motivated to maintain consistent power and control over all aspects of the survivor’s life. They may accuse you of cheating, isolate you from family and friends, destroy your property or personal belongings, monitor your location continually, and more. Weapons can be used to intimidate you. And behaviors may or may not be physically violent.

The Power and Control Wheel developed by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, Minnesota, visually represents the tactics used by abusers to maintain control. Overt and subtle methods of abuse are captured to help people identify situations and seek assistance.

Supporting survivors is essential to our work. Giving them a path away from the violence and intimidation is essential to their survival. Offering them safety, support, and solidarity is key to a future free of domestic abuse. 

Wear purple during October to share your support. Join us this month and all year round in standing up for survivors. Be a source of information to help survivors reach out through hotlines and organizations such as Programs for Peaceful Living (PFPL) in Klickitat County or the Skamania County Council on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (SCCDVSA) in Skamania County. 

If you are in crisis, contact the 24/7 Crisis Line at 844-493-1709.

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Una versión en español de esta historia está en línea en www.columbiagorgenews.com/enespanol.