NEW DIRECTOR WANTS TO TALK ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Jennifer Pollitt Hill wants to make sure that people understand that domestic violence and sexual assault aren’t restricted to “others.” It can happen to family members, friends and neighbors, she says. And everyone can do something about it.
“We need more awareness of domestic violence,” says Pollitt Hill, pictured below, who was appointed executive director of the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County (DVC) last February. “There are a lot of misconceptions.”
A licensed social worker, Pollitt Hill counseled a diverse population until 15 years ago when, because of the situations she was seeing among her clients, decided to focus on violence against women.
Whatever the population — whether college students or drug and alcohol abusers, if women were involved, there was almost always some form of abuse, Pollitt Hill recalls. She perceived an undercurrent of violence against women that was rarely discussed.
“I decided to work directly with women,” says Pollit Hill. “It’s amazing to help contribute to their healing process.”
Since then, she has worked in, among others, the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the District of Columbia Office of Victim Services.
Founded in 1978 to provide counseling, education and legal and logistical support to victims of domestic violence, the DVC is a private, nonprofit organization that relies on grants and private donations.. In 2010 its mission expanded to include sexual assault victims, currently serving more than 3,000 people per year. While most of the clients are women and children, DVC also helps men. Clients range from women who need an immediate safe harbor to adults who have experienced abuse in childhood. Local hospitals call the center for rape exams, to provide support during the medical process, and, if requested, the legal process.
DVC’s services run the gamut: 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, long-term transitional housing, individual and group counseling, legal services, community education and violence prevention programs. New this year is a court-ordered treatment program for abusers. *
