Chair Cogen joined other elected officials and community partners on September 8 to speak at the grand opening of the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services. This “one-stop” center will allow those who are fleeing domestic violence to access an array of critical services all under one roof.
Senator Ron Wyden, Representative Earl Blumenauer and City Commissioner Dan Saltzman each spoke about the importance of collaboration and community efforts in addressing the devastating effects of domestic violence. Portland writer and performer S. Renee Mitchell welcomed guests to the event. Martha Strawn Morris, Executive Director of the new center, also spoke to the assembled crowd of more than 100 people.
Between January and April 2010, 1200 incidences of domestic violence were reported in Portland. In 2009, 22 people in Oregon died of domestic partner homicide.
“Domestic violence is a serious issue in Multnomah County,” Cogen said. “Our public and private domestic violence service agencies have done and continue to do valiant work on behalf of survivors, but they continue to be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of clients.”
Chair Cogen and City Commissioner Saltzman spearheaded this project together with support from the county’s Domestic Violence coordinator. A key to this multi-agency center’s success was formalizing partnerships between the various service providers and agencies.
On-site “navigators” will provide assistance for victims seeking legal, financial, physical or mental health help, as well as child care. A unique feature of the center is the ability of victims to file a restraining order via videochat. The center is not meant to replace existing agencies, but to increase ease of access to the important services they provide.
Facts and Figures
Domestic Violence:
- Occurs in all socio-economic groups, all religious groups, all races, all ethnic groups and within heterosexual, lesbian and gay relationships, to people of all ages and physical abilities.
- Is perpetrated against women in over 90% of the cases. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Selected Findings, Violence Between Intimates, NCJ-149239, November 1994).
- Is the single greatest cause of injury to women in this country.
- Affects one in seven women in Multnomah County every year. (Domestic Violence In Multnomah County, 1999)
- Includes psychological, verbal or emotional abuse that can be as devastating as the physical violence.
- Happens to people you know; perhaps your neighbor, friend, sister, mother, your co-worker or even yourself.