Martha Strawn Morris directs services for the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services, a new one-stop resource for people trying to break free from an abusive partner. Photo by Jake Thomas.
Survivors of domestic violence no longer have to trek from place to place to access the resources they need to escape their abusers and establish new lives, a process that can be vexing as it is time consuming.
The Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services is celebrating its opening this week at 10305 E. Burnside St., serving as a “one-stop” place for people trying to break free from an abusive partner.
The whole idea behind the center is that individuals fleeing an abusive domestic situation can come to the center’s single location and get most, if not all, of their needs addressed, rather than having to go to multiple places scattered across the city.
People who utilize it can access legal help, get a shelter referral, file a police report, apply for a domestic violence grant, get food assistance, find a clothing closet, and just have a comfortable environment to take a breather.
The comprehensiveness of the center is made possible by collaboration between the City of Portland and Multnomah County, in addition to the Oregon Department of Human Services, Lifeworks NW, the Immigrant and Refuge Community Organization, and other organizations that will be setting up shop inside.
And the services are much needed.
According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, there were over 34,000 calls for help with domestic violence, which include crisis calls, peer support calls, and calls for information and referral. A 1999 study by Multnomah County found that nearly 14 percent of women in the county had been physically abused.
The needs of each survivor of domestic violence vary greatly; and Multnomah County’s Domestic Violence Resource Guide is 48 pages.
Martha Strawn Morris, the director of the center, explained that people utilizing the center are directed toward one of six workers dubbed “navigators,” who inform them of what resources are available to them.
“A navigator can take very personal concerns and very personal needs and translate that into what services are available,” she said.
Morris said that people using the recently-remodeled center, which is open to both men and women, are referred to as “participants,” a term that is intended to skirt the traditional dichotomy of client and social services professional.
“I think it’s trying the blur the ‘us’ and ‘them,’” she said. “I’m a person in this community and you’re a person in this community.”
The navigators come from several community-based nonprofits, like the Native American Youth and Family Center, and can provide culturally-appropriate services.
However, the needs of a participant are hardly cookie-cutter.
“It’s extremely individualized,” said Lisa Bigelow, a navigator from NAYA.
One of the more innovative aspects of the center is a video teleconference room where people wanting a restraining order can appear before a judge for the hearing. Morris explained that this can ease the process for a victim of domestic abuse breaking free from their abuser because they don’t have to make the trek to intimidating courthouse downtown where their former partner will know where they are.
The creation of the center has been a long time coming, and is the result of collaboration between Multnomah County and the City of Portland.
City Commissioner Dan Saltzman helped spearhead the initiative after attending meetings held by organizations on the front lines of the problem. He often walked away with bulky stacks of paper that listed all the resources from someone trying to flee an abusive situation.
“I just kind of thought that was a little intimidating,” said Saltzman, who has been immersed in the issue while working as a county commissioner and city commissioner, who was once in charge of the Bureau of Emergency Services.
In 2008, the city released a study on the feasibility study on the prospects of the center. Victims of domestic abuse were interviewed in focus groups, and many complained about having to run all over the city to access various services. It also found that other cities, like San Diego and Oakland, that created similar centers, saw more victims of domestic violence access services and their abusers held accountable.
The study recommended its Gateway location because it’s centrally located in Multnomah County, is on the MAX line, and the police bureau’s Domestic Violence Reduction Unit is right next door.
To get started, the City of Portland allocated $1.6 million to get started and another $422,000 out of its budget. The county-owned building used to be the Children’s Receiving Center. The county contracted out its work with the Christy Schools.
However, the one of the big things the center can’t do is provide overnight shelter, only provide referrals. Morris said that about only one in nine requests for shelter are met.
“We know there’s not enough,” she said.
