Domestic Violence
HOW DOES A BETTER WAY
HELP VICTIMS?
MUNCIE OFFICE
765-747-9107
RICHMOND OFFICE
765-966-0538
CRISIS SUPPORT
765-288-HELP
SUICIDE & CRISIS LIFELINE
CALL 988
Safe Shelter
A Better Way provides safe, emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault and their children for 45 days, during which they will set and work toward goals leading toward more peaceful lives. The shelter can accommodate up to 25 individuals. Support services include individual counseling, case management, information and referral, essential transportation, and financial independence education.
Find a shelter or program near you. >> domesticshelters.org
Legal Advocacy
Legal advocacy is provided to all clients which includes, but is not limited to, accompaniment to court, assistance with filing protective orders, legal rights education, and assistance in preparation for testimony and other issues throughout the legal process.
Crisis Support Line
A Better Way advocates are ready to take your call and provide you with immediate, confidential support 24/7. We will listen, offer encouragement, and we will believe you. You may call as often as you like.
Call 765-288-HELP today for confidential support.
Emotional Support
Support Group: Our Domestic Violence Support Groups meet every Monday night, except on holidays. Groups are facilitated by a victim advocate. A children’s group is provided during support group hours.
Individual Support: Professional counselors are available to provide compassionate trauma-informed care; emotional and behavioral services include assessment, individual counseling, and referral to higher levels of integrated care as needed.
DV Defined
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, it’s defined as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another”.
You’re not alone, and your safety matters. We encourage you to explore our online domestic violence information packet and fill out the Danger Risk Assessment to help in your journey toward safety and healing.
Statistics
Nearly 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner in the U.S. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime. If a gun is involved, risk of homicide increases by 500%.
The Warning Signs
- call you names or put you down?
- get extremely jealous when you talk to your friends or family?
- frequently check up on you or demand to know where you have been or what you are doing?
- hit, push, or hurt you in a physical way?
- pressure you into having sex when you don’t want to?
- lose control of temper, then blame you?
- accuse you of lying?
- ignore your thoughts and opinions, and make decisions for you?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions you may be in an abusive relationship.
NO ONE DESERVES TO BE ABUSED!
NCADV
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Website: ncadv.org
ICADV
Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
24-Hour Hotline: 1-800-332-7385
TNDVH
The National Domestic Violence Hotline
24-Hour Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE