Victims of domestic violence in Catawba County may soon have one less place to turn for help: The Family Guidance Center is working to raise $150,000 over the next two weeks to continue providing services to victims through the end of the year.
Melissa Hall has received help from the Family Guidance Center on two occasions.
“My mother brought me here because she was dying of cancer and she wanted me to get therapy because I was going through a hard time. I came here when I was 10, but then she passed away and they cut off my services,” Hall said. “Then as an adult, I had to go to Catawba County Court to get a protection order against my ex-husband.”
Hall currently works as the associate director of victim services at the Family Guidance Center, which served 1,600 clients last year, the majority of whom were victims of domestic violence.
Years of funding cuts and rising costs of providing services have left the Family Guidance Center at a crossroads: They need $150,000 within the next two weeks to continue helping people get free legal help, shelter, therapy services and more.
“We have a lot of clients who rely on this every week,” Hall said. “We have women’s groups that come to us and this is the only support they have. It’s really hard not to have that available in our community.”
The Family Guidance Center operates the only domestic violence specific shelter in Catawba County, without which victims and their families would have to travel outside the county just to find help.
Executive director Robert Dalton said the Family Guidance Centre is a vital part of the area and community.
“Every county has shelters, and they’re all full most of the time,” Dalton said, “but without our shelters, it could have a ripple effect on all the surrounding counties.”
Dalton said the shelter will prioritize those with the greatest need and those in immediate physical danger.
“We’re part of the social safety net for the community. We’re the people who answer the phone at 2 a.m. when someone is in crisis,” Dalton said. “We help those people get stabilized quickly and then move forward.”
Hall says she is in a healthy relationship with the man she plans to marry in September, and she credits the Family Guidance Center’s services for helping her escape her abuser and get back on track.
“If we didn’t have this house, I probably would have taken him in,” Hall said. “I wouldn’t have known I deserved better. I would have had to work two jobs to pay rent and things like that, and I would never have had the time to slow down enough to get counseling.”
The Family Guidance Center has been in the Catawba community since 1959.
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