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Board
of Directors | Management
Team | Supporters
The safety of our clients is our primary
concern.
As a private, nonprofit corporation with
offices and shelters in Howard County, the
Domestic Violence Center of Howard County,
Inc. provides an array of services focusing
on prevention, intervention and advocacy
for the victims of domestic violence.
- No one deserves to be physically or
emotionally abused.
- Our clients have the capacity to help
themselves and make their own decisions
with the center acting as the facilitator
and advocate.
- Each individual who needs our services,
whether victim or abuser, deserves our
respect, compassion and support.
- Violence is a learned behavior that
can be changed with appropriate intervention.
- Our clients have the capacity to help
themselves and make their own decisions
with the center acting as the facilitator
and advocate.
- The importance of active support for
improved laws and governmental policies
that benefit victims of domestic violence.
- Emergency and transitional shelter
- Counseling for victims, children and
abusers
- Legal assistance for victims and their
families
- 24/7 helpline
- Pet Safe program
- Outreach and community education
- DVC clients are diverse in age, ethnicity,
race and socioeconomic status. DVC
services are completely confidential
and all fees are based on income.
The Domestic Violence Center is governed
by a volunteer board of directors.
Thirty full- and part-time employees provide
DVC’s essential services to our clients.
They are supported by approximately 20
undergraduate- and graduate-level interns
from local college and universities who
primarily support DVC’s counseling
programs, and by more than 75 volunteers
who staff the helpline and support DVC’s
other immediate and ongoing services.
Funding sources include federal, state
and local governments, private foundations,
corporations, churches, community organizations
and individual donors.
The Domestic Violence Center was founded
in 1978 as Citizens Against Spousal Assault
(CASA). For much of the agency’s
first decade, shelters were located in
the homes of those concerned citizens and
volunteers who were willing to provide
temporary shelter for women and children,
and in motel rooms paid for by fundraising
efforts.
Today, the Domestic Violence
Center is a comprehensive agency providing
assistance to all family members impacted
by domestic violence. DVC operates an emergency
Safehouse for victims who need to escape
an abuse situation immediately, and several
transitional shelters in the county — longer-term shelter
that gives victims and their families the
time they need to regain independence, stability
and confidence, and to live lives free from
domestic abuse. The 24-Hour Helpline
provides invaluable support to callers. Counseling
and legal assistance also serve as integral
elements in the process of moving from hurt
to healing to hope. At the heart of
the Domestic Violence Center’s mission
is a sincere and unrelenting desire to
guide families from crisis to hope. |
