skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Support for OH domestic violence survivors for substance use, mental health

play audio
Play

Monday, October 9, 2023   

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in the last few years, Ohio has seen an increase in both the number and severity of domestic violence cases.

Shelters across the state are expanding services to better address substance use and mental health issues, with which survivors often struggle.

Tiffany Clark, mobile advocacy case manager for the Southern Ohio Task Force on Domestic Violence, said the ongoing experience of trauma, violence and coercion can lead to attempts to self-medicate.

"A lot of the times we see that it is a trickling effect," Clark observed. "Because they may suffer from mental health issues -- or depression, anxiety, something in that nature -- due to the domestic violence, then they turn to drugs."

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network's new substance abuse and mental health program has equipped its statewide network of 76 agencies with harm reduction tools, opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution, and referrals to substance use treatment. The program is supported by funding from the HealthPath Foundation and the American Rescue Plan.

Mary Ann Peercy, executive director of the Southern Ohio Task Force on Domestic Violence, said the expanded resources have allowed her team to better serve the rural Appalachian region by meeting survivors where they are.

"We were able to hire a mobile advocacy advocate, who's able to, to go out and meet these survivors, victims, at a place that they feel it's safe for them," Peercy explained. "That could be at a coffee shop, at a park."

Clark added mobile advocacy can help individuals and children get out of unsafe situations faster, and save lives.

"It allows me to be hands-on in helping them find treatment, helping them find care providers and things like that," Clark outlined. "And it can also bridge barriers, as far as if they need transportation."

Research shows domestic violence survivors are more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE or text "start" to 88788.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021