Two out of every five women in California will experience physical violence from an intimate partner during their lifetime, according to the California Women’s Health Survey.

For some women, it’s a push or a slap that just happens once. But for many others, it’s repeated abuse, a severe cycle of violence that could go on for years.

In either case, Interface Children and Family Services, a Ventura County-based nonprofit organization, is there to provide help.

Interface’s Family Violence Response Team helped 312 victims and their children in Ventura County escape abusive relationships last year.

But now the response team is at risk of being disbanded. Recently, it was denied a threeyear extension of its California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) grant, representing a loss of $525,000.

CalEMA is Interface’s No. 1 funding source.

Due to dwindling state and federal resources, the money has been redirected to communities that don’t already have a family violence response team in place, said Erik Sternad, executive director of Interface.

In order to continue services in Ventura County, Interface is holding a campaign to raise $180,000 by June, he said.

“If we can be successful in this campaign, we’ll be able to assure the community we can continue running this program beyond the current grant cycle,” Sternad said. “We have already reduced the overall staffing (of the response team) to stretch the dollars further.”

Meeting a ‘critical’ need

Sternad said the response team is available 24/7 to help victims after police respond to a domestic violence incident.

“We meet with the victims at the police station and help them strategize about what to do next,” he said. “Sometimes they come into our shelter or we transport them to a relative’s home or a friend’s home. What’s important is that they go to a place that’s safe.

“The response team helps them to navigate that process, because it always happens at a point where it’s very traumatizing for them.”

The team has been helping victims in Ventura County since 2005.

Besides the victims who receive face-to-face support, Interface also provides over-the-phone assistance and referrals to another 1,400 county residents in familyviolence situations each year.

Interface’s Family Violence Response Team works directly with all law enforcement agencies in the county, including the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and police departments in Simi Valley and Oxnard.

“The police handle the criminal side of the incidents, like issuing emergency protective orders, making arrests or filing warrants, but they’re not the advocates that can help clients find services,” said Rachel Navarro, program manager with Interface. “Whether it’s 2 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon, we’re there to support the police officer and advocate for the victims.”

Not only does Interface provide emergency transportation and shelter for domestic violence victims, but it also help clients with legal matters, Navarro said.

“Recently I had a client walk into our office needing services,” Navarro said. “It wasn’t the first time she reached out, but this time she was ready for a change.”

Navarro helped the woman get a restraining order and custody for her children. She also helped the victim get a “move-out” order so the perpetrator couldn’t return to the home.

“We help them with what they need right now—food, clothing, a place to stay,” Navarro said. “Then we look at the bigger picture. We do follow-up with our clients. We do safety planning with them to prevent further incidents.”

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said Interface provides a “critical” service for the community.

“When deputies go out to the scene to deal with a domestic violence situation, we don’t have the time to follow up and do long-term counseling,” Dean said. “Interface has been that conduit—helping us in maintaining a safe domestic environment for (victims) to take the next step.”

Without the Family Violence Response Team, victims would have a more difficult time stopping the cycle of violence, the sheriff said.

Some victims would also be left alone at a time of serious need.

“We’re going to make the appropriate arrest, but after that, people are suddenly left on their own,” Dean said. “These are people who’ve been through a traumatic experience, who don’t know where to turn.”

Advocating for families

As a whole, Interface Children and Family Services operates more than 20 different programs dealing with mental health, domestic violence, youth and family strengthening, and community service training.

About 20,000 Ventura County residents also use Interface’s 2-1-1 hotline, which provides referrals and information on a variety of community resources.

Although the loss of CalEMA funding will not affect the operation of Interface’s emergency and transitional shelters, the lack of funding threatens the continuation of the county’s sole domestic violence response team, Sternad said.

The team consists of four highly trained staff members who can respond to domestic violence victims at a moment’s notice.

“It’s very sensitive work,” Sternad said. “That’s why we’re so concerned.”

At this point, the organization has fulfilled about one-third of its fundraising goal.

“ Many people have had family members involved in certainly uncomfortable, if not domestic violence, situations,” Dean said.

“Times are tough and tax dollars are strained. But individual people right now have an ability to help with a specific venture, to keep our community safe from domestic violence.”

For more information on the program or to make a donation, visit http://icfs.org or call Interface at (805) 485-6114.

Some services provided by Interface

• Help for youth—Interface offers leadership development activities, service learning, life-skills coaching, crisis response, mediation, temporary Cool Home shelters, independent living skills classes for foster youth, and outreach and engagement events to assist homeless or runaway youth in accessing support. • Family violence intervention—Interface Family Violence Response Team offers 24 hours a day, seven days a week advocacy and response to domestic violence calls when requested by law enforcement and medical providers. Family violence advocates respond to safe locations to provide crisis intervention, immediate assessment, safety planning and referrals to victims. • Safe Haven Emergency Shelter—Safe Haven provides 30 days of emergency shelter for women and children who are fleeing domestic violence.

Courtesy ICFS.org