Safe House for Women to honor volunteers, organizations

A former director of the Southeast Missouri Safe House for Women will speak at the organization's inaugural recognition banquet later this week.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday with a reception at Ray's Plaza Banquet Center, 3257 William St., followed at 6:30 p.m. with dinner.

Tickets for the event are $25.

The people and organizations being recognized at the event are Margie Fowler, a volunteer at the organization's thrift store; Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Charlie Herbst, who volunteers at the Safe House shelter; Cape Girardeau Evangelical United Church of Christ, which has hosted events and sponsored activities in connection with Safe House; and Saint Francis Medical Center, which supports the facility through its "Power of Sharing" campaign, according to Jessica Hill, development director at the Safe House for Women.

Cheryl Robb-Welch, now chief operating officer of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and former executive director of the Safe House, will be the keynote speaker, Hill said.

Robb-Welch will address statewide trends in domestic violence, the coalition's role in monitoring domestic violence related legislation in the Missouri General Assembly and the importance of facilities such as the Safe House, Hill said.

Every year since the Safe House was opened in 1991, the facility has seen more demands for its services, such as court advocacy, case management, emergency shelter, counseling services and the PAWS program with the Humane Society, according to Hill. The PAWS program exists to ensure that a person's pet is taken care of when they live in the facility, said Aaron Picar, an educator at the Safe House.

"An abuser will use anything possible to their advantage," even a pet, to prevent someone from getting help, Picar said.

In 2013, the facility provided 96 women and 54 children with shelter, in addition to helping several hundred women through its outreach office, according to Hill.

Hill said the rise in demand for the facility's services, which mirrors statewide trends, is indicative of both an increase in domestic violence and women becoming "more aware that we can help them."

As part of its outreach, Safe House has worked with local law enforcement agencies and court systems, Hill said. Picar said victims of domestic violence are brought to the police station before they are brought to the facility for confidentiality purposes.

The police are "very supportive and very helpful" to the facility, Picar said.

In addition, a law enforcement agency or court can give a person a business card with the facility's hotline number on it or refer them to the Safe House for counseling services or other needs, Hill said.

"We all try to be a safety net for people experiencing domestic violence," Hill said.

The facility's hotline number is 800-341-1830. For more information about the facility, visit semosafehouse.org.

Pertinent address:

3257 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.