Preface
Billions have now
been spent establishing shelters for battered women. Such shelters can
presently be found in virtually all metropolitan areas. However, there
are increasing questions about their effectiveness both in terms of
cost, results, and credibility.
We think few
begrudge the money spent to provide a safe haven for women and
children in distress. Any society that is to survive must make the
safety of pregnant women and children one of its first
priorities.
Today we are
met with a barrage of propaganda indicating that domestic violence is
an ever increasing problem. And the list of abuses seems to grow
exponentially until every man is a " batterer" and
every woman a "victim." Common sense has disappeared
in mass hysteria and ever-broadening definitions in the law of what
constitutes domestic violence and abuse.
When
the source of such hysteria is sought, one primary origin keeps
showing up: Women who operate shelters for battered women. And
underlying their utterances is an ever increasing appetite for public
funding by which they make their living.
For
years, decades actually, these publicly funded programs have fought
tooth and nail to be virtually exempt from Federal oversight, that is
to have their programs monitored or audited by the government. We have
long been concerned about the veil of secrecy under which these
shelters operate and the likelihood of mismanagement so common with
taxpayer-funded operations that are hidden from public review. While
we support the need for shelters, we do not condone the practices
summarized below. And the Equal Justice Foundation has documented many
more such abuses of public trust at
http://www.ejfi.org/DV/dv-61.htm.
While
many, if not most, shelters serve humanity with compassion and
justice, it is also known that many don't as articulated
below.
Charles E. Corry, Ph.D., F.G.S.A.
President, Equal Justice
Foundation
_____________________________________________________________________________
On Mar 11, 2014 the Equal Justice Foundation received the
following testimonial. Formatting and some punctuation errors were
corrected by the EJF then reviewed by the author:
_____________________________________________________________________________
Hello my name is [withheld]. I am currently
located at a women's shelter in La Grange, Illinois, called the
Pillars/Constance Morris house. When I done my intake on the phone I
thought me and my children would be safe and treated with respect
here.
We ran from Missouri because of the abuse from
my husband and him trying to kill me. But coming into this shelter has
been a total nightmare I have witnessed staff verbally abusing
residents and refusing to help the residents with resources to help us
start a new life.
We are told we can only use sugar for coffee
and not cereal. Our children are not allowed to use the play room and
there is nothing for them to do. Also we are constantly threatened to
be written up for anything. We cannot help each other with our
chores.
We feel like we are being abused here and we
are still with our abusers. Myself, when I called for my intake I let
them know I was disabled. But when me and my children came here some
staff have been rude and due to the amount of cleaning and going up
and down 3 flights of stairs my condition has gotten so bad I had to
go the hospital after pleading with staff to lighten my chores so I
would not be in so much pain. Staff wouldn't believe me and acted like
they didn't care even after seeing the nurse who was very careless
about helping me to do easier chores and have access to the elevator
so I would not be in so much pain.
I even contacted my doctor who called the
shelter to let them know what I could and could not do. I was later
called in the office and told that this facility is not handicap
accessible and I would have to find somewhere else for my kids to go.
Because in order to be in their program I have to be able to do more
chores than the dishes and wipe tables which my primary care physician
called them and told them. Heavy duty cleaning is what I have to be
able to do to stay here in this program.
I don't know anyone here in Illinois but a few
friends. I feel so used and violated. They tell us they have no
funding and cannot provide transportation for us ladies. We have no
Internet access to look for jobs and houses.
The food is issued out to us and our children
and if we can eat it. If we are just hungry we get wrote up if we cook
after a certain time.
I ran out of my medicine and another
resident took me to get my meds and we were 11 minutes late and got
yelled at. Even had to sign a warning paper but the lady who tried to
help me was wrote up.
They will not provide us with a resource
list to find help in the community to get clothes and bus passes. One
staff was too lazy to even get me and others a glass of water when we
take our meds.
I brought up a few of these issues to
the supervisor only to be told a grievance has to be written but
will not be dealt with until the resident leaves the shelter.
Me and my children are going to be
homeless because I can't perform the chores and they can't accommodate
my needs as a handicap person. The nurse lied on me and I refused to
do an assessment when I was in so much pain from doing so many chores
and walking 3 flights of stairs I was asking for lighter chores and to
use the elevator. I had my doctor call to verify my condition and let
them know what I could and could not do. I was still made to take the
stairs and it resulted in me having to go to the hospital that same
day. I suffer from PTSD, major depressive disorder, carpal tunnel
syndrome, degenerative disc disease, and fibromyalgia.
I was better off with my abuser, sorry to say.
Someone please help us.
___________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Issues of interest to the Equal Justice Foundation
are:
Civilization
http://ejfi.org/Civilization/Civilization.htm
Courts and Civil
Liberties
http://ejfi.org/Courts/Courts.htm
Domestic
Violence
http://ejfi.org/DV/dv.htm
Domestic
Violence Against Men in Colorado
http://dvmen.org/
Emerson
case
http://ejfi.org/emerson.htm
Families and
Marriage
http://ejfi.org/family/family.htm
Prohibitions and the War On
Drugs
http://ejfi.org/Prohibition/Prohibition.htm
Vote Fraud and Election
Issues
http://ejfi.org/Voting/Voting.htm
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
The Equal Justice
Foundation (EJF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity supported
entirely by members and contributions. Dues are $25 per year and you
may join at http://ejfi.org/Join.htm or by printing and mailing in the
application at http://ejfi.org/Application.htm. Contributions are tax
deductible and can be made on the web at http://ejfi.org/join2.htm or
by sending a check to the address below.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Charles E. Corry, Ph.D., F.G.S.A.
http://corry.ws
President, Equal Justice
Foundation http://ejfi.org/
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/ejfi.org
455 Bear Creek Road
Colorado Springs, Colorado
80906-5820
The good men may
do separately is small compared with what they may do
collectively.
Benjamin
Franklin
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