Last week was a challenging week in the domestic violence corner of our community. We are moved to give you a glimpse of what it is we are endeavoring. A chronicle of this past week included a day spent with experts on firearms and the intersection of domestic violence and firearms best practice (which we don’t have), from the National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit.

We learned that a client of ours who did not show up at a scheduled TRO hearing had been reported missing and found dead, deemed a suicide.

Two police officers were arrested for domestic violence.

A client who will be participating in our mother-daughter event had her court date continued for the 11th time.

We met the new executive director of the Domestic Violence Coalition for the first time; it has been more than a year at Hawaii’s only statewide coalition without solid leadership.

The media called us for comment about the unconfirmed allegations of misconduct by University of Hawaii coach Charlie Wade, from 30 years ago.

The Star-Advertiser in its legislative summary in Saturday’s edition made no mention of any bills pertaining to crimes against family members or the system’s positioning to respond. Our organization’s budget will not see an increase, after 10 years at a stagnant level; nearly $600,000 cut in 2009 has not been restored during that time period.

A community business leader called us for advice about an employee who is in danger. A staff member facilitated a workshop at a locally hosted national conference on partner violence in LGBTQ communities.

Two grants were uploaded to sustain program services to children witnesses of family violence. The agency wait-list for legal services is growing.

Calls for support with safety planning and requests for information are steady. Advocates who navigate the path to safety with victims as they make the transformative journey to survivor, are in constant motion.

Our annual Snapshot of Services to the community in a one-day period was conducted: on April 24, staff had 98 telephone contacts with clients, completed 63 safety plans, answered 15 helpline calls, educated 66 youths in presentations about healthy relationships, had 44 in-person contacts with clients, and made 115 referrals for survivors who had a variety of needs to meet.

Twenty survivors had the benefit of attorney or advocate accompaniment into courtrooms and 138 survivors received legal information from our Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC) staff.

DVAC has been a leader and an advocate and a spokesperson on this community issue for almost 30 years. We cannot keep up this pace without strong allies, without more funding and without more understanding about how serious a problem we are facing. We have been building a response to domestic violence, and working diligently to get every sector to play a role.

Domestic violence does not discriminate. Someone you know is more than likely suffering in silence. Safe families are at the core of a healthy community. If we are committed to a healthy community, we need some help. Please.

Thank you for letting us put a finer point on today’s reality, and sharpening your focus on the manifest challenges that we live every day.