Our guest speaker for Friday, September 17th was Joy Ingram, the Major Donor Collector for Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County. Joy has worked in the non-profit field for the past twenty-five years. Many of those years have been with the DVS organization. She commented that in a conversation with a Chief of Police, that domestic violence in his city was up over 3,000%. Nationally, Covid-19 confinement has caused a terrific rise in domestic violence. Joy is working with the communities to highlight their programs and services as a means of combating and bringing awareness to domestic violence. Four families currently are in residence at the Shelter. They did have to close for a period during the pandemic.
The shelter numbers are up over 24% verse the past year. The mission of their organization is to end domestic violence by providing a wide range of services to victims of domestic violence and facilitating social change. Their numerous programs include a crisis hotline; emergency services; transitional housing; legal advocacy; and advocacy/support groups; children programs as well as domestic/dating violence education. Housing individuals and families is usually up to 30 days but can be extended. Their annual budget comes from a contract work with DHS and funding from providers.
Join Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County for an Open House on Wednesday, September 29th from 4 - 7 pm at their New and Again Thrift Shoppe at 3010 Grand Avenue in Everett.