Domestic Violence Awareness Month begins in October
PRINCETON, Ill. {KWQC} – October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Freedom House has locations in Illinois as their mission is to provide compassionate, confidential, and free services to anyone affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.
Since being in business since 1983, they offer a 24-hour hotline and emergency shelter.
“Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a time for advocates, survivors, allies, loved ones or community to kind of mourn the loss of loved ones that we’ve lost to domestic violence,” said Freedom House Domestic Violence Program Manager, Amber Killian. “Kind of embrace the survivors that are still going through it. And to celebrate the progress that agencies like ours are making in the domestic violence, movement.”
According to their website, they provide client-centered counseling that promotes self-help, self-advocacy, and support during the healing process.
“I started out going to counseling with Jen, who’s just awesome,” said Freedom House client, Roxy. “She’s really just level headed and I’ll be calling her and freaking out. She’s like, Wait, think take a deep breath, you know, slow down just a little bit. And so she really helped me get a handle on how to slow my thoughts down and how to deal with the anxiety.”
According to Killian, to celebrate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, 20 life size silhouette cutouts of women and children have been temporarily placed at Tanner’s Orchard in Speer, Illinois. It is part of the Silent Witness Initiative and the 20 cut outs represent the women and children who were murdered by domestic violence within the five counties Freedom House serves.
Freedom House has shelters in Kewanee, Geneseo, and their main campus is in Princeton, equipped with a 28-bed shelter. They also have outreach facilities, which serve a five county area in Marshall, Putnam, Stark, Henry and Bureau County.
A full list of their services can be found here.
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