It is truly heartbreaking to hear CASA has had to close their safehouse due to budget constraints. Most victims of domestic violence seek safehouse shelter as a last resort. Typically, the victims that seek safehouse shelter have experienced a recent increase in the frequency and/or severity of violence in their homes.
Safehouses are effective for a number of reasons. First and foremost, safehouses provide safety for victims and their families. Secondly, safehouses such as CASA offer counseling services for the victims and their families. The purpose of the counseling services is to empower the victims to take back their lives. Domestic violence advocates want to instill a sense of pride and worth in the victims that they may have lost during their time in an abusive situation. Safehouses also provide an environment where the victims can express feelings of shock, anxiety, disbelief, anger, and depression to others who have experienced those feelings themselves.
Imagine feeling unsafe in your own home. Even worse, imagine feeling unsafe in your own home and having nowhere else to go where you can feel safe. For many years, safehouses like CASA have provided a place for victims to go where they can feel safe. CASA's safehouse provided the only safehouse in the Myrtle Beach area for domestic violence victims and without it many victims will be forced to stay in an unsafe environment. I think it is critical for the community of Myrtle Beach to band together in the efforts to reopen the CASA safehouse.
CASA closes Myrtle Beach domestic violence safehouse - Today's News - MyrtleBeachOnline.com
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