Women Aware Assists Clients Seeking Shelter from Domestic Violence

Over the past 30 years, Women Aware, a free and confidential organization that assists women and children in domestic violence situations, has come to the aid of thousands of clients from all over Middlesex County.

The only domestic violence agency and hotline for the county, Women Aware provides food, shelter, counseling for women and children, accommodation and amenities for women who may have to abruptly leave their homes, and long term assistance including help with job hunting and education.

According to the agency, 30 years ago, the focus of domestic violence agencies was to shield their clients from immediate dangers. Now, the scope of dangers has expanded, and those agencies are focusing more intently on what will happen to their clients once the immediate danger has passes - where will their children go to school, or attend daycare? Where will they live, work, or receive medical attention?

"What we are doing is addressing all the barriers for clients,'' said executive director Phyllis Adams.

Each new client to the center is assigned to a case worker, who meets with them six hours a week to discuss their situation and possible next steps, and assistance is made available to clients in the areas of finding housing, going back to school, or finding a job, if need be.

Extensive support is also available to children and teens, through such avenues as art therapy programs that are intended to help them work through the difficult changes they are facing.

Children usually stay in the art therapy programs for about six months, said Sarah Siering, a registered and board certified art therapist with the agency.

Siering said the program's benefits lie in helping children express their feelings about abuse and their family situations in a safe, constructive way.

"(It) dispels the shame associated with domestic violence,'' she said.

The teen art therapy programs are designed to give teens more options and more control over how they express themselves, said Rachel Kaplan, another registered and board certified art therapist with the agency.

Crafts, such as collage, drawing, and art journaling are offered to teens to express their feelings, with the idea of offering them multiple avenues of expression.

"The more parts of the brain we utilize, the better the healing,'' she said.

The agency's safe house has 24 beds available for women and children, said executive director Phyllis Adams, but currently, the agency is working on opening permanent housing in a renovated three family house in the county by 2012.

The permanent housing, in which tenants will be able to use housing vouchers, is part of the county's 10 year plan to end homelessness, according to the agency.

"Domestic violence survivors are homeless, some of them,'' Adams said.

For more information on Women Aware, visit http://womenaware.net.

The agency's  24 hour confidential hotline, answered by trained staff and volunteers, can be reached at 732-249-4504, or TTY 732-249-0600.