October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The YWCA of Union County, an organization that empowers survivors to become safe and free from abuse, through various services and programs, has seen a 35% increase in clients from 2019 to 2022. From Crisis Response Team Calls to providing Supportive Housing, the YWCA has served over 12,000 individuals.
After a building fire in 2019, the YWCA is in the midst of construction on their new Elizabeth facility that will provide services to survivors of domestic violence.
YWCA Union County's Executive Director Karen Geer spoke with WBGO News Director Doug Doyle about the programs and the issue of domestic violence. While one in three women have experienced some form of domestic violence by an intimate partner. Geer stresses the concerns go way behind that.
"We're learning in this field that domestic violence is intergenerational family trauma. So, while we're called the YWCA, we're now gender-free, understanding that domestic violence affects every type of gender. The services that we provide are all free. We provide counseling, counseling for children that have been victims of domestic violence. We provide legal services at the Family Justice Center. We have a confidential emergency shelter in which we can place victims that are subject to violence. It's a 60 day emergency shelter and then we help them find permanent housing."
Geer says the overwhelming demand for services is related to many factors.
"Certainly the Me Too movement has raised awareness for people to not tolerate abuse. Also, people were at home in their residences during COVID and many people put up with behavior that they wouldn't tolerate, and now that some of those restrictions have been lifted, we've seen almost a quadruple increase in our demand for services."
YWCA Union County is trying to meet that demand through the provision of comprehensive, client-centered services, and through education, collaboration and advocacy that builds safe, informed, and supportive communities. Its programs include a 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline (908-355-HELP), Community Support Services, Family Justice Center, and Residential Programs, PALS (Peace: a Learned Solution), and Community & Professional Education.
With more than 30 years of experience working with not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, Karen Geer is a versatile executive, educator, trained musician, and lawyer – with a track record of success in increasing earned and unearned revenues, implementing extensive cost-savings strategies; garnering significant media attention; and building a loyal community of stakeholders.
Karen has been non-profit leader having roles in New York City at the Midori Foundation, the Interschool Orchestra of New York and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (BCM). Karen has raised money for many non-profit organizations securing millions in funds for capital projects and operations budgets.
Geer says the transition from being a lawyer to the non-profit world began after September 11, 2001.
"I worked at Tower Two of the World Trade Center when the planes hit. I wasn't there THAT day because I was voting. I was supposed to be there every other day. We lost a lot of people at our firm. I was put in a role to reconstruct the firm like the security committee. I would say that's the single most profound experience that I had to stop being a lawyer and to stop helping non-profits restart themselves."
Geer is now using her experience to bring new ideas and initiatives to YWCA Union County.
"That skill set I used as a lawyer, and the way you think as a lawyer like looking at legal contracts, has helped me here. I'm a creative thinker as a musician, so I'm always looking out of the box for solutions. The thing that I love the most about my job is mentoring the younger people to become stronger leaders. It's a really good place to be. "
For more information about YWCA Union County , you can visit here or call (908) 355-1995.
