Middle Way House educates about domestic abuse

Every 15 seconds, a woman is physically abused. \nIt is the single most serious cause of injury to women. \nA woman is raped every 41 seconds in this country.\nTwo in every four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.\nDomestic violence is the most frequent, least reported crime in the nation, according to the Middle Way House Web site. \nMiddle Way House, a shelter for battered women and their children and a rape crisis center in Bloomington, has served Monroe, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Morgan and Owen counties for more than 30 years in this capacity. In 1981, Middle Way House shifted its focus to concentrate primarily on domestic violence intervention. \nIn addition to a full-time, professional staff, Middle Way relies on a volunteer base of approximately 250 people, about 70 to 80 percent of whom are IU students, according to Amy Maidi, the Crisis Intervention Services Coordinator. All volunteers must attend an introductory eight-hour domestic violence training session before they can be placed into one of the shelter's five program areas. \nBecause Middle Way House is part of a larger state organization, the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic violence intervention training is mandated. Although the state dictates the topics that must be covered at the training sessions, Middle Way House customizes its own training program. \nVolunteer training sessions take place seven times a year Saturdays. The most recent session was Saturday and the next will take place June 22. All of the sessions are held at the First United Methodist Church and do not require any prior registration. Maidi, who has been the training sessions coordinator for the past three and a half years, generally plans for a group of no more than 100 prospective volunteers at each training session.\nThe most interest is typically shown at the beginning of each semester, she said, when up to 80 people might come to the sessions. Saturday, approximately 45 prospective volunteers came to the session. \nThe demographics of the most recent group were fairly standard, with women comprising a majority of the group, but there was also a good representation of men, Maidi said. \nMiddle Way's myriad of available volunteer opportunities include work involving transitional housing units for domestic violence victims and their children, the 24-hour crisis phone line, childcare, tutoring and on-site 24-hour police and emergency medical support. Middle Way also owns three businesses which sometimes employ victims. All of the businesses' profits support domestic violence victims, these businesses include a confidential paper-shredding business, a catering service and a jewelry-making business. \nWhile volunteering for such programs might seem intimidating, Maidi said she believes that the training sessions are thorough and effectively prepare the volunteers. \n"The number one thing that we hope is to help them to understand the situation better, to have more compassion and to provide our clients with good information," she said. "When they say that knowledge is power, it's true." \nLiz Pinnick, a sophomore volunteer at Middle Way, said that the introductory training session provided a general education about domestic violence and was very informative. \n"I'd had a little bit of exposure to the information before, but all of the details were new," she said. \nPinnick attended her introductory session in December and has been regularly volunteering since January. \n"One of the biggest things I learned," she said, "was that people don't usually realize it when they're being abused." \nPinnick said that she realized how important domestic violence intervention education was because "people aren't aware of the definitions of abuse and it's just not talked about." \nThe training sessions cover a wide range of educational topics, focusing primarily on the basics of domestic violence: What it is, its cultural implications and how it affects the victims, children and batterers. Several speakers also attend the training sessions to offer additional perspectives on domestic violence intervention. \nKim Sherman, a legal program coordinator at Middle Way House, discusses the shelter's legal services. Volunteers in the legal department at Middle Way keep daily track of local arrests in domestic and sexual assault offenses and then follow up by sitting in on the court cases, Sherman said. The volunteers also wear Middle Way badges when they attend these court cases so that they can be easily recognized by anyone who has any questions or is seeking advice. \nSherman talks about the criminal arrest process and the differences between criminal and civil cases, highlighting protective orders. The shelter also works with police to arrange arrests, and Sherman also outlines the specific volunteer opportunities available in the legal department of Middle Way. She said that she typically gets about 15 to 20 people from each training session that are interested in volunteering in the legal programs. \nThe list of speakers also includes Toby Strout, the executive director, who talks about all of the various volunteer positions available. And Lynda Robison, who works in the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office, discusses how one can determine if someone is eligible to be prosecuted. Jim Witmer, a Bloomington Police Department officer who is also certified as a domestic violence trainer, provides the perspective of the law enforcement in domestic abuse and sexual assault cases. \nMaidi said she believes that the training sessions can also be very self-beneficial. \n"It helps them (the prospective volunteers) to understand themselves better," she said. "When some people come into the training, they might not believe that they'll be able to rise to the occasion, but they almost always do." \nMaidi said that the self-realization aspect of the training sessions is just as important as the educational aspects. \nOccasionally people attend the training sessions and then realize that they might not be capable of handling the stress or emotional drain of domestic violence intervention. Maidi said that it is important to note that Middle Way House offers a variety of volunteer opportunities, many of which do not involve direct intervention. Even if a prospective volunteer decides not to work directly with clients, Maidi still sees their participation in the training program as beneficial. \nThe training sessions conclude with a video presentation of survivor's stories. After a final debriefing session, the participants may sign up for specific volunteer programs. Everyone who attends the training sessions is welcome to volunteer in any capacity they choose, but prospective volunteers who have been victims of a domestic violence relationship are encouraged to wait at least one year before working directly with intervention. \n"If something has been a traumatic event for you, it's really difficult to go back to it, even if you want to," Maidi said. She also said waiting a year allows the past victims ample time to heal and recover, and that it is ultimately the individual's decision. \n"Our job is not to convince them; it's to give them good information," she said. "They (past victims) are wonderful helps because they have such a great compassion and understanding." \nAll of Middle Way House's programs require some additional orientations, and specifics vary from program to program. \n"They have a really good foundation to build upon," Maidi said. \nMaidi said new volunteers are always welcome and asked students to please consider the donation check-off that is available to students when they register for classes..