Maria pushed her twin boys up our ramp at lunchtime. Both babies were blind since a premature delivery at six months, a result of a beating their mother received at the hands of their father. "He says he is going to kill me and the boys," she said.
People in crisis, who have been abused physically and emotionally by someone they share a personal relationship with, need someone to stand beside them - to make sense of the information and options, the doctors and police officers, social workers and shelters. They need someone to encourage them to walk out of the emergency room with a plan to be safe.
The VIP 24-Hour Domestic Violence Response Team is a group of dedicated and highly trained Advocates that respond anytime, day or night, to every victim of domestic violence that comes into the emergency rooms at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. By responding to victims in a crisis situation, we can reach out to them and support them when they are most vulnerable, educate them about the cycle of violence, assess the level of danger in the relationship, prevent a recurrence, and protect children.
After assessing the victim's circumstances, an Advocate can:
- Provide crisis counseling
- Help identify medical, legal, or welfare resources
- Liaise with physicians and law enforcement officers
- Provide case management, advocacy, and crisis intervention services to help reduce the trauma that victimized mothers and their children experience.
In addition, VIP Advocates emphasize the need for and offer access to mental health services at the VIP-Community Mental Health Center, if children are involved. Ongoing mental health services help the victims and their non-offending family members heal from trauma, raise their awareness about the cycle of violence, and empower and encourage them to build new lives.
