Alternatives to Violence advises town councils on agency services

Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse this week will wrap up a tour of nine town council meetings around the county. Since early April 5, team members have gone to each town to let city leaders know about the services available for local victims.

“I just familiarize them with who I am and our agency,” Rebekah MillerMacphee, sexual assault prevention educator said in an interview with the Gazette Monday. She also appeared at the Oakesdale City Council session Monday night.

The goal of the tour was to update town officials on the availability of services available at Alternatives to Violence, a 30-year-old non-profit agency based in Pullman. It offers resources for sexual assault victims, domestic violence victims, and stalking victims.

Also at Oakesdale, Whitman County Deputy Keith Cooper, who patrols Oakesdale part-time, said one advantage of the organization’s service is women feel more comfortable talking with another woman after a trauma occurs.

“They relate a lot better to a woman being there,” Cooper told the council.

Oakesdale Councilman Al Evans asked if the center calls the police when they are initially contacted. MillerMacphee said they contact law enforcement when the victim is determined to be in immediate danger.

Almost 400 victims and survivors were served by Alternatives to Violence for the year ending in June 2009.

The center offers a shelter for victims.

“We have a confidential shelter for people who need to get out of dangerous situations very quickly,” MillerMacphee said. Victims in need of transport to the shelter in Pullman can also call in for a ride.

Advocacy-based counseling is also available. That counseling educates victims on their medical and legal options.

The center sends staff members out to speak with people in rural areas of Whitman and Latah Counties.

“If someone is in a crisis, we can drive out there and meet them,” she said.

MillerMacphee said in Moscow and Pullman they mostly see sexual assault cases in young women. For the rest of the county, the majority of the issues involve victims of domestic violence.

Alternatives offers a 24-hour hotline: 332-HELP.