Police: Man Shot and Killed by Coworker's Ex

Another example of how domestic violence is not just a private, family matter:

Joshua McColley found his former girlfriend cowering in the back of the Pizza Hut and aimed a .38-caliber revolver at her, police said.

She begged him not to hurt her: McColley had already shot her co-worker and left him in a pool of blood behind the store's front counter. He obliged her plea and turned the gun on himself.

In the end, her life was the only one spared.

McColley, 23, fatally shot himself at the south DeKalb County pizza store Saturday morning, and Pizza Hut employee Samuel Wallace died from his injuries Monday, according to DeKalb police.

Wallace, 34, was shot twice following a brief confrontation with McColley and was "unconscious and unresponsive" when emergency responders arrived at the store. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wallace family.

Mass Shooting in California DV-Related

Another mass shooting can be attributed domestic violence, this time in Seal Beach, California.

Seal Beach police said the death toll from the salon shooting has risen to eight people. A ninth victim is in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

"This could be one of our greatest tragedies," Police Sgt. Steve Bowles said.

The gunman opened fire inside the crowded salon Wednesday, littering the shop with bodies. Police said he acted alone, although investigators said they were still scrambling to piece together what triggered such violence.

Eyewitnesses said that he was targeting his ex-wife and that the two were involved in a custody dispute.

To risk sounding like a broken record, domestic violence is not just a private family matter. It can easily spill out into our communities. Many, if not most, of the mass homicides of this nature in recent years have been motivated by domestic violence or a hatred of women in general. Until violence against women is eradicated, cases like this prove that we are all in danger.

The Best DV Article Ever (So Far)

This is a really great article that tells survivors' stories respectfully, doesn't victim-blame, and does a great job of illustrating many of the common issues that survivors of domestic violence face. All around, it is a fantastic article. We don't get to say that very often, so we encourage you to click through and read.

Share Your Ideas with Vice President Biden

The White House, under the leadership of Vice President Biden, who has been a long-time ally to those of us working to end violence against women, has launched a new website called 1 is 2 many. '1 is 2 many' wants to engage a younger generation in creating innovative solutions to address dating violence and sexual assault in schools and on college campuses around the country.

The campaign also includes 'Apps Against Abuse' – a nationwide competition to develop an innovative software application that provides young adults with tools to help prevent sexual assault and dating violence. Since many incidents of dating violence and sexual assault occur when the offender, often an acquaintance, has targeted and isolated a young woman in vulnerable circumstances, the application the White House has envisioned will offer individuals a way to connect with trusted friends in real-time to prevent abuse from occurring.

This is your chance to be part of a solution. Talk about violence against women, tweet about it (#1is2many), and see what you can come up with. What we know if that violence against women won't stop end until all men choose to stop using violence. In a world full of prevention messages targeted toward women (always watch your drink, don't walk home alone at night, be careful what you wear), how can we target men? How can we make violence less cool and less socially acceptable? How do we teach respect to a new generation?

We can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Not Something We Need To Be Worried About

On this blog, we try to regularly draw attention to ways in which domestic violence in dangerous to everyone, not just the individuals involved. This is important, because many people still don't see domestic violence as a serious threat. Case in point:

A Raleigh, North Carolina woman was found shot to death in a Buckhead apartment Wednesday. Here is a quote from a neighbor:

"I'm hoping it's more of a domestic dispute rather than something we need to be worried about".

In other words, domestic violence is OK. It's not something I would be bothered by.

Man Shoots Ex, Kills Self in Augusta

An Augusta man with a history of stalking the mother of his children shot her at the plant where she works before turning the gun on himself. The man was angry that his victim would not renew their relationship.

The man -- identified as Alfonicia Gilbert, 35, of the 2800 block of King Street in Augusta -- shot his ex-girlfriend as she sat in her car in the parking lot of the Covidien plant at 1430 Marvin Griffin Road about 7 a.m., Richmond County sheriff's Lt. Calvin Chew said.

Afterward, he turned the gun on himself.

Chew said the woman, identified as Tiffany Bush, 28, of Girard, Ga., was in serious condition at Medical College of Georgia Hospital.

Gilbert did not have a restraining order against him, but it is clear that he was stalking the victim.

Gilbert was recently thrown out of a doctor's office Bush was visiting, Chew said.

"He came there unannounced and made a scene," he said.

No domestic violence charges had ever been filed against Gilbert, but this incident makes it clear that not all, and maybe not even most, victims of domestic violence go to the police. Especially in stalking situations, the victim might not identify with the label of "domestic violence" or "stalking" and might not think of calling the police. Alternately, they might not believe the police can help them. It is vital that friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers understand what domestic violence and stalking look like, so that they can advise victims that help is available.

Additionally, this further underscores the need for employers to take domestic violence seriously. According to CBS news:

The shooting comes a day after a man angry about a child custody dispute with his girlfriend shot her outside the New Mexico manufacturing plant where she works, then forced his way inside and killed two employees before turning the gun on himself. The girlfriend remains in critical condition.

If you would like Women's Resource Center to help your Atlanta-based business create a plan for helping employees dealing with domestic violence, and for keeping your other employees safe, please call us at 404-370-7670. Outside of Atlanta, call 1-800-799-SAFE to be connected to an organization in your area.

The Bush family is in our thoughts and prayers and we wish Tiffany Bush a full and speedy recovery.

DV Murder in Lithonia

The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office has arrested an Ellenwood man and charged him with murder in connection with a shooting on March 14 in Lithonia.

The sheriff's office said Monday that deputies arrested Camario Terrell Watson, 23, on Thursday and charged him with the shooting death of Terry Hall, 42, of Lithonia.

Witnesses reported seeing Watson shoot Hall in the chest with a shotgun after Hall tried to mediate an argument between Watson and a female, allegedly Watson's girlfriend, sheriff's office spokeswoman Mikki Jones said.

Watson was arrested without incident in the parking lot of the South DeKalb Mall on Candler Road and was being held without bond Monday at the DeKalb jail.

Hall was trying to be a good guy and to bring down the situation, but batterers can be some of the most dangerous people to confront. This is where treating domestic violence as a private matter that doesn't hurt anyone but the family involved can be very dangerous. If we as a society took domestic violence seriously and saw batterers as the dangerous people that they are, Hall might not have felt safe to try and mediate the situation. He may have called the police. Instead, his life was taken from him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Vanderbilt Recruit Killed in Murder-Suicide

A star football player from Cobb County with a bright future ahead of him was killed in a DV murder-suicide by his mother's ex-boyfriend.

Clifton Steger was no stranger to the Bennett family. He was at McEachern High two weeks ago when 18-year-old football star Rajaan Bennett signed his letter of intent to play at Vanderbilt.

"[Steger] was introduced as a friend to the family," said McEachern Athletics Director Jimmy Dorsey. But sometime last week Rajaan's mother, Narjaketha Bennett, broke up with Steger, a 39-year-old carpenter who'd lived much of his life in Detroit.

"He was out for revenge," said Dorsey, who told the AJC he had talked with Powder Springs Police and Rajaan's family earlier Thursday. Steger allegedly broke into the Bennett's home on Woodcrest Drive just southwest of downtown Powder Springs.

Rajaan's younger sister Narcharlette, a middle schooler, quietly called 911 around 2:30 a.m. to report Steger's intrusion, Dorsey said. Four minutes later police arrived and "as they approached and knocked on the door, they heard several gunshots," Powder Springs Police Maj. Charles Spann told the AJC.

Inside police found the bodies of Rajaan, captain of the 2009 McEachern football team and an all-state running back with a 3.8 GPA, and Steger, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, said Powder Springs Police spokesman Matt Boyd.

Rajaan's uncle, Taiwan Hunter, 32, was also shot; he is listed in critical condition at Atlanta Medical Center. Rajaan's mother and his two siblings, Narcharlette and Desybon, were unharmed.

Students held a vigil for Rajaan Thursday night. About 150 students gathered in huge ring around posters, candles and chalk messages on the concrete that paid tribute to their classmate.

McEachern has set up a fund to help the family pay for funeral expenses. To donate, send checks made out to the McEachern Endowment Fund with “Rajaan Bennett Memorial” written in the bottom left corner. McEachern High School’s address is 2400 New Macland Road, Powder Springs, GA 30127. For more information, please call 770-222-3710.

Domestic Violence = Athens Newsmaker of the Year

The Athens Banner-Herald traditionally recognizes a single person as the Top Newsmaker of the Year. But this year, when every murder in the city in 2009 was a domestic violence homicide, they chose to recognize as 2009 Top Newsmakers the emergency dispatchers who handle traumatic scenes, an advocate who works to stop domestic violence, and the victims of domestic violence themselves - each a person who was more than a statistic.

Read their series here:

Dispatchers calmly deal with the worst

Giving victims a voice

To honor and remember

Domestic Violence Bombing

Expecting to see a post about war? Nope. From the Augusta Chronicle, we hear about a literal domestic violence attempted bombing in Georgia:

Authorities say Robert Holt, 25, wanted to get back at his old girlfriend by throwing a Molotov cocktail through the window of her home.

He not only got arrested; he hit the wrong house.

Mr. Holt was being held Tuesday without bond, charged with throwing the firebomb through the window of a Dell Drive house Sunday night. He was taken into custody soon after by Thomson police.

Authorities said Mr. Holt had been arrested on a variety of charges in recent months but is now facing arson in the first degree, four counts of aggravated assault and possession of an explosive device, according to police records. Each charge is a felony.

No one was injured when the device was thrown through the front window of a residence in the 500 block of Dell Drive about 9 p.m., police said.

Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John W. Oxendine said in a statement that Mr. Holt mistook the home for one where he thought his estranged girlfriend was living.

Firefighters with the Thomson Fire Department responded to a fire call at the home where damage was reported.

Mr. Holt is being held without bond in the McDuffie County Law Enforcement Center.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we repeat: domestic violence is not just a private, family matter. It spills out of homes and into our streets. Innocent bystanders, friends, and family members are killed daily across the country because we are still too accepting of the violence that we expect to stay behind closed doors. The family living in this home is very lucky that no one was killed. They could easily have been victims of domestic violence homicides too.

The Importance of Prevention

A writer on Law Blog discovers what those of us in this field have known all along, that sometimes women do every single thing they're "supposed" to do and they still experience further violence. What the writer gets wrong, however, is this sentence:

Sometimes, there is no way to prevent the real dangers of domestic violence.

The sentiment is spot on, but the writer is still making society's tired old mistake, that prevention is something for which a victim of violence must take responsibility.

She must leave the relationship to prevent future violence. Well, as we hope we've made very clear on this blog, immediately after leaving is one of the most dangerous times in an abusive relationship.

She must take out a protective order for her safety. Well, to a man who has been to jail and for whom threats of imprisonment are not threatening at all, a protective order is just a piece of paper.

She must leave the relationship, get a divorce, stay in a safehouse, leave the state, change her name, protect her address, etc. etc. etc.

As an attorney, the Law Blog writer does wonder if he did everything he could to ensure her safety. To him, that means he wonders if he helped her gain all of the possible legal protections available. See "she must take out a protective order" above.

He sums up with this:

Did the system fail? Could this brutal second attack have been prevented? Was there something else I could have done? I don't know. However, I have a few suggestions for those who have been the victims of domestic violence and who still maintain contact with the perpetrator because of child custody issues.

More advice for women. I hope our regular readers see where we're going with this. Not once does the writer wonder what could have been done to prevent the batterer from learning to batter.

Sometimes, there is no way to prevent the real dangers of domestic violence.

Sometimes, it is too late to prevent the real dangers of domestic violence for the woman/women on whom one batterer preys. But it is never too late to teach our sons not to batter. That's the best and only real way to prevent the real dangers of domestic violence.

Update: Shakesville posted today on a public transit sign, meant to reduce sexual harassment on trains and buses, that reads:

Sexual Harassment is a crime in the subway, too--a crowded train is no excuse for an improper touch. Don't stand for it or be ashamed, or be afraid to speak up. Report it to an MTA employee or police officer.

Note the advice. Sexual harassment is a crime . . . report it. Not sexual harassment is a crime . . . don't do it.

Church Involvement in Ending DV

The Rev. Steven Saul, pastor of Trinity Anglican Church in Douglas County, Georgia, is setting an example for his peers. From the Times-Georgian:

“I want to have the churches become proactive in helping victims who suffer from domestic violence,” he says.

This has led Saul on a mission to make the local religious community aware of the domestic violence problem and to help them recognize signs when it is happening. He also wants to see pastors take an active role in speaking out against violence from the pulpit.

Saul cited the 2008 Georgia Domestic Violence Fatality Report, an annual report by the
Georgia Commission on Family Violence, to emphasize the need for church involvement.

The report shows that 25 percent of domestic violence victims and 17 percent of the perpetrators are actively involved with a church, temple or synagogue.

“What this says to me is that there’s an absolute place for the church to serve in an advocate or support role for people suffering abuse,” he said. “I want to encourage them to speak about the issues from the pulpit and avoid hiding what is public.”

What Reverend Saul says is true. There is absolutely a need for church involvement in the movement to end violence against women. Church leaders should believe and support women who disclose abuse at home and, equally if not more importantly, churches should condemn the actions of batterers from the pulpit, in the pews, in the fellowship hall, and through the words and actions of their members.

DV Skyrockets Among Poorest Katrina Evacuees

Women living in emergency trailer parks in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina were three times more likely to become victims of domestic or sexual violence than they were prior to the storm, according to a new study published by the American Medical Association.

Dr. Lynn Lawry, the lead author of the report published Monday in the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, said the level of violence found in the survey is comparable to similar studies performed in camps for displaced people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and other war-torn countries.

The study, conducted from 2006 to 2007, surveyed 420 women in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer parks around the state. The per capita incidents of violence against women - both sexual and physical - is similar to what Lawry, who works on health and humanitarian issues for the Defense Department, found in camps in Darfur region of Sudan in 2005.

The stresses of the disaster, job losses and tight quarters, combined with an increased use of alcohol and drugs are believed to be the culprit, she said. As we have discussed previously, these conditions are known to make abusers feel out of control. In order to regain their sense of control, they seek to dominate those closest to them, often their spouses, partners, and children.

Call to Action

WRC is putting out a local call to action.

This week an Atlanta police officer was arrested for starting a violent altercation with his former partner and a third police officer while the couple was exchanging custody of their child.

This story brings to light an important aspect of domestic violence that is often misunderstood or ignored. Often, when a woman leaves an abusive relationship, she must still co-parent children with a violent partner with whom she would rather have no contact. Batterers often use custody/visitation exchanges to continue to harass their former partners. In fact, according to research compiled by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, fathers who batter the mothers of their children are twice as likely to seek sole custody of their children.

Our call to action has to do with the offender's status as a police officer. According to the National Center for Women and Policing, domestic violence is 2-4 times more common among police families than American families in general. Domestic violence is always a terrible crime, but victims of a police officer are particularly vulnerable because the officer who is abusing them:

• has a gun,
• knows the location of the domestic violence safehouse(s), and
• knows how to manipulate the system to avoid penalty and/or shift blame to the victim.

Victims often fear calling the police, because they know the case will be handled by officers who are colleagues and/or friends of their abuser. Victims of police family violence typically fear that the responding officers will side with their abuser and fail to properly investigate or document the crime.

These suspicions are well founded, as most departments across the country typically handle cases of police family violence informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even check of the victim's safety. This "informal" method is often in direct contradiction to legislative mandates and departmental policies regarding the appropriate response to domestic violence crimes. Moreover, a 1994 nationwide survey of 123 police departments documented that almost half (45%) had no specific policy for dealing with officer-involved domestic violence. In that same study:

• The most common discipline imposed for a sustained allegation of domestic violence was counseling.
  
• Only 19% of the departments indicated that officers would be terminated after a second sustained allegation of domestic violence.

Additionally, when individuals are convicted of family violence, their right to carry a firearm is supposed to be revoked. In the case of law enforcement, that would mean that the officer would lose his job.

We are calling on our community to monitor this case to make sure that this batterer is held accountable, regardless of his law enforcement status. Additionally, if he is found guilty, we want to ensure that he loses his weapon's permit. We will continue to provide updates on this case and any actions that you can take to be sure that the victim in this case receives justice.

Back Under the Rug

It has taken many years for the anti-violence movement to convince our communities that domestic violence is not just a private family matter. Apparently, we haven't done enough.

Yesterday, CNN ran an article on their website entitled Couple's private wars, public battlegrounds. Though the title sounds encouraging, the content is little more than an excuse for admonishing couples for arguing in public.

Though the article is not exactly addressing domestic violence, it is problematic in the way that it normalizes verbal abuse and simply advises couples to do their arguing behind closed doors where no one else will be bothered. Victims of domestic violence are often silenced in our society, by their partners, family and friends, and by society when they receive messages like these. Rather than advising women to keep their problems to themselves, we should be encouraging them to seek help and support.

Teaching Men

Much like the work done by our partner organization Men Stopping Violence, several colleges are shifting the focus of their anti-violence work from protecting women to training men.

Tyler Jones was tipping back a couple of beers with friends at a Dinkytown bar when he suddenly had to take a stand.

"Hey, see that girl over there?" Jones recalled an acquaintance asking, nodding toward a woman he wanted to take home. "She's almost drunk. Not quite drunk enough. ... What shot should I buy her?"

There was a time, Jones says, when he might have laughed off the remark. Not anymore.

"You want to buy her something really strong to like, basically knock her out?" Jones, a University of Minnesota senior, recalled saying. "Man, that's not right. That's rape. That's sexual assault."

The acquaintance looked stunned. "Whatever," he mumbled, and walked away.

It was one moment at one bar. But it's also a sign of a big shift in strategy on campuses trying to tackle a culture that some say tolerates sexual assault. Instead of teaching women not to walk alone at night or to carry Mace, some colleges are trying something much harder -- changing college men. Jones, fresh from sex assault prevention training, is in the vanguard of the movement.

"The fact of the matter is that prevention comes down to, largely, males. Because males are primarily the ones perpetrating these crimes," said Lauren Pilnick, sexual violence education coordinator at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

More than one in five female students reported that they had experienced an actual or attempted sexual assault, according to a 2007 survey at 14 Minnesota colleges and universities. Nationally, one group estimates the ratio is as high as one in four female students while at college.

Colleges are turning to programs that strive to sensitize college men to sexual misconduct, and there is evidence of some success. First-year fraternity men who saw a specific rape prevention program were nearly half as likely to commit a sexually coercive act as those who didn't, according to a 2007 study co-authored by John Foubert, a professor who developed the nonprofit One in Four, a group aimed at changing male behavior.

Of about 80 campuses receiving Department of Justice grants to address sexual assault and other issues, about 20 have full-fledged men's programs, while almost all the others are on their way to starting them, according to one administrator. In Minnesota, schools including the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Cloud State University, Minnesota State University, Mankato, and Carleton College are starting men's groups or have them in place.

Some male students at Bemidji State University are involved in a community men's group that has met on campus.

The efforts aren't limited to schools. The Army announced a program in September encouraging soldiers to "intervene, act, and motivate" if they see signs of activity that could lead to sexual assault.

There has been "an interest in getting men involved, men being interested in being involved and a feeling amongst people who had worked in this arena that it was about time," said Frank Jewell, co-coordinator of the Minnesota Men's Action Network, a group initiated by the state Department of Health a few years ago to prevent sexual and domestic violence.

No easy task

Male groups are not a new idea, but colleges and universities are putting new emphasis on them. Getting college men to talk seriously and think about how sexual assault is portrayed around them is no easy task, though.

Jill Lipski Cain leads that conversation about five times a month, sometimes in front of Jones' fraternity. The violence prevention education coordinator at the University of Minnesota's Aurora Center, which focuses on sexual assault, she opens the discussion with a slide show of jaw-dropping statistics, images and sounds.

One magazine advertisement features a gaunt teenage-looking girl in a bikini top, a tube of perfume placed in her cleavage. "Apply generously to your neck," the text reads, "so he can smell the scent while you shake your head 'no.'"

One after another, more ads flash: Women with short skirts and spread legs, muscular men restraining women, scantily clad women posed as if dead.

Overhead, music thumped while the lyrics coached, "Pop a little champagne and a couple E's. Slip it in her bubbly."

Lipski Cain asked: "Is it really sex that is being sold or are there elements of rape in it that's presented to you as sex?"

The answer seemed obvious. But the definition of what constitutes sexual assault wasn't so clear. Students are told they must get consent before having sex. And under state law, someone who is incapacitated can't give that consent, violence prevention leaders said.

Men and women also use different communication styles, educators point out. A woman may not say no to sex, but may freeze up in response to a guy's advances, for instance. That is communicating "no," they say.

The key is to always ask, educators say.

And then there's language some guys use: "banging" their girlfriends, for instance.

"How do you think perpetrators talk about sex?" Lipski Cain asked. "What are we tolerating when we just let a comment or a joke slip by?"

Rob Leeson, a sophomore fraternity member, found the discussion enlightening. "It kind of opens your eyes to what our culture is like," he said. "You kind of pay more attention to those little things you never thought about before."

Expecting challenges

At St. Cloud State, a group of eight male volunteers are committed to trying to make other guys think. Once a week for three weeks they huddled in the basement of the campus Women's Center for training.

Chuck Derry, co-coordinator with Jewell of the Minnesota Men's Action Network, led the training and told the men they are in a unique position to bring about change, but they should expect to be challenged. Men will dwell on scenarios where women seem to be asking for sex, he said. If a woman is dressed suggestively, drinking heavily and rubbing against men on a dance floor, some men will say she's stupid to expect that guys won't try to have sex with her.

Ben Hedlund, a graduate student and Male Peer Education Program Coordinator, suggested turning the logic around in that case: "So you're telling me that a woman is stupid not to think of you as a vulture. Are you telling me that you're a vulture, too?"

Derry told the group they'd have to prepare answers for all types of arguments from men who are reticent to believe the sex assault statistics.

"They're getting all these messages that say that women are bitches and ho's and sexual objects," Derry said. The challenge is to get men to understand the ties between casual comments and a tolerance for violence, he said.

No overnight changes

For Jones, who is helping start a similar campus men's group, the spur to action came partly because his sister arrived as a freshman on the University of Minnesota this fall.

As Jones grew up, his mother let him know that she disapproved of jokes and comments that degraded women. But when he got to college, it was easy to just act like one of the guys and let comments slip by. When the staff at the Aurora Center approached him about starting a men's group, he decided it would also be a good opportunity to promote change and fight stereotypes about fraternities.

And he was exactly the type of guy the staff was looking for: popular in the Greek community, a leader in Delta Tau Delta, someone with instant credibility among other guys.

"When I talk about it, every once in a while people still kind of laugh it off," Jones said. But he said many guys tell him they respect what he's doing.

He understands he won't be changing the world overnight.

"It's going to take time. It's going to take commitment," he said. "Every once in a while if I can get one person, that's one more person that didn't think that way before."

We've long argued that domestic violence will end when men can be persuaded not to batter. We are confident that programs like these will play a large part in that.

Teens Killed at Greenbriar Mall

Today, from CBS46 in Atlanta:

ATLANTA -- Gunfire rang out in the holiday shopping season at an Atlanta area mall Saturday afternoon and sent two people to the hospital.

The shooting happened inside Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta where shoppers ran for cover fearing for their safety.

Police said three or four shots were fired and when the gunfire ended, two people were injured with wounds to their legs.

The unidentified victims are described as a black male and female in their late teens.

They were taken by ambulance to Grady Memorial Hospital.

“I think that's very tragic. It's a tragic circumstance and hopefully they'll find out who it was that did it and bring that person to justice,” said shopper D'Andre Green.

Police said the victims knew the gunman and believe it's a domestic incident and at the time of the accident there were about six or seven officers on the premises.

According to the general manager there were additional officers posted, including bike units, because of the holiday shopping. He say this shooting happened despite security presence.

“It's very hard to defend against those kinds of random acts of violence,” said Mike Weinberger.

Stories like these, which seem so common, remind us that domestic violence is not just a family matter, but instead spills out into the greater community in some very dangerous ways. In fact, at our candlelight vigil in October, we read the names of 7 innocent bystanders - family members, friends or strangers - who were killed in the previous year in the state of Georgia during domestic violence homicides. This number does not include the 5 children of victims and/or perpetrators who were also killed.

Atlanta Homeless Shelters Overloaded

From the AJC:

It was dinnertime inside the Gateway Homeless Services Center and the lobby was crowded with women and children dining on baked fish, rice and beans.

There were 166 people on the list to stay there on this cold October evening in downtown Atlanta.

...In recent months, Gateway has had at least 200 women and children seeking shelter. Center employees put cots on the lobby floor and ask the women and children to make do.

Across metro Atlanta, homeless advocates say they’ve seen an uptick in the number of women and children seeking shelter as the economy has faltered. Although they have no statistics to back up their conclusions, they point to the Gateway lobby as
evidence. Most area counties will conduct a census of their homeless in January.

The Rev. James Milner said the number of people seeking help seems “infinite.” Milner runs Community Concerns Inc., an organization that has an apartment complex in DeKalb County where homeless women get job training, clothes for work and other services.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I’ve never seen it this bad, particularly with women and children,” he said. “We’re seeing too many grandmothers [without a home].”

Homeless advocates say they’re trying to help, but their coffers are low, and they’re getting little additional financial help.

Ellen Gerstein, executive director of the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services, said a staffer was in tears in her office one day last week, frustrated by the inability to help the rising number of women and children in need of shelter, food and health care.

Stories like these are common for us. Children under 9 are the fastest growing homeless population in our city, and many of these children are homeless with their mothers because of violence faced at home. Though we don't call our safehouse a homeless shelter in the traditional sense, women and children stay there because they have no other options for housing at the time. For many families, it is literally a choice between violence at home or no home at all.

For others, homelessness comes after a period of trying to make it on their own with limited resources and supports.

In an interview, [Mayor Franklin] said single women with children typically suffer first when the economy falters.

“They feel it first,” she said. “So we’ve seen in this increase of women and children, many of the women … work for low wages until a child gets sick or they get sick and they lose their job. They don’t have the flexibility of sick time. They don’t have the flexibility of vacation time to support their families.”

Franklin said she and mayors from cities such as Boston and Denver who have worked on homelessness issues believed things were getting better. That was until early 2008, when the mayor noticed an economic downturn in the city.

“All of us thought we understood the problem and thought we were making progress and all of a sudden we see this increase [of homeless women and children],” Franklin said. “We’ve seen the cracks in the economy. Now, it’s like an avalanche, and children often suffer the worst.”

Homelessness due to family violence is also a problem in rural areas in Georgia and in other states, but many of these families migrate to Atlanta because they hope to find more opportunities here.

“They hear it’s the home of Martin Luther King, and it’s the city too busy to hate,” Milner said. “They think there’s an advocacy movement that will take care of them.”

Teresa Miles is one of those newcomers. Miles, 47, moved here from a Baltimore suburb three months ago, hoping to keep her two teenage sons away from increasing gang violence there. Unable to find housekeeping work and without a support network in Atlanta, Miles and her children sleep in the Gateway lobby.

DeKalb County resident Tasha Bell, 36, a mother of two girls, moved into a transitional housing facility near Doraville in May after getting evicted a month earlier. She was laid off from her job a year ago and couldn’t find another job where the hours allowed Bell to pick up her daughter, who’s about to turn 3, from day care.

Bell said what troubles her most about her current situation is not being able to buy things for her 14-year-old daughter, who’s in her first year of high school.

“That makes me feel very sad, like I’ve failed,” she said.

Women and children are one-third of Georgia’s homeless population, according to the United Way Regional Commission on Homelessness. Children under 9 are the fastest-growing group of homeless, they say.

In recent years, Atlanta has often ranked among the meanest cities to the homeless, partly due to its law aimed at curbing panhandling.

At the time of this post, there are 2 beds (at two separate shelters, meaning no room for women to bring children) open in domestic violence shelters in the five-county metro area.

Carnival Against Sexual Violence

Part of the mission of The Big Picture is to expose our readers to the ways that our local work with survivors of domestic violence connects to the larger Violence Against Women Movement. That's why we are excited to introduce you to the Carnival Against Sexual Violence. Though

Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence has no control over the content of the Carnival's blog, and some posts may contain strong language and discussions that may trigger strong emotions, we encourage you to visit their site on the 1st and 15th of each month to hear how other bloggers address the complex and multi-faceted issues that encompass the Violence Against Women Movement.

Local Bar Owner thinks Homicide is Hilarious

Image taken from Shakesville

The AJC reports:

Just down the street from Marietta's famous Big Chicken, Mulligan's has carved a provocative niche in an increasingly multicultural area, thanks to its owner's ultra-conservative political views. If you live in Marietta, it's impossible not to know what's on Norman's mind, as he posts his views on signs in front of Mulligan's.

Among his recent musings: "I wish Hillary had married OJ," "No habla espanol — and never will" and the standard "I.N.S. Agents eat free."[emphasis added]

These offensive signs, however, did not draw community wide protest. It was not until owner Mike Norman began selling Obama '08 shirts with pictures of Curious George on the front that several organization including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Nation of Islam, and the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials organized a rally to protest the bar's racism. While it's very important to call out these racist and reprehensible actions, we cannot forget to highlight the misogyny as well, that this restaurateur would rather Hillary had been murdered than run for president.