Team in place to assist domestic violence victims

Oct. 10--County and state officials want domestic violence survivors to be aware there is a team available to help them move forward from abusive situations.

Pittsburg County commissioners have passed a proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month at the request of District 18 District Attorney Chuck Sullivan.

District 1 Commissioner Charlie Rogers, District 2 Commissioner Kevin Smith and District 3 Commissioner Ross Selman voted unanimously to pass the proclamation after Sullivan addressed them concerning the matter.

"It's to raise awareness about domestic violence," Sullivan said. "It still continues; if we can raise awareness, we can address it."

Sullivan's office has formed a Coordinated Community Response Team to assist with domestic violence issues in the district attorney's District 18, which consists of Pittsburg and Haskell counties.

Team members include: Sullivan, Tandy Burnett, First Assistant District Attorney Adam Scharn, Assistant DA Katherine Greubel Ross, Jana Miskovesky and Amber Suter, all from the DA's office. The team's focus is on victims of domestic violence, he said.

"We want them to move from being a victim to being a survivor," Sullivan said. "It's not that we're trying to prosecute more. Our goal is to help survivors."

Sullivan said he wants survivors to know there is now an entire team ready to help them move forward.

The proclamation states that one in every four women and one in every seven men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.

"Through this proclamation, we pledge to ensure that victims of domestic violence know they are not alone, and that our community is here to support them as they courageously move forward to enjoy full and healthy lives," the proclamation states.

Members of the District 18 team joined Sullivan at the commissioners' meeting, including Tandy Burnett, who heads the Coordinated Community Response Team.

Sullivan's office is also distributing posters that invite individuals to wear purple every Thursday in October to help increase domestic violence awareness.

"Hands are not for hitting," the poster proclaims, along with the statement that every nine seconds, another woman in the U.S. is beaten.

"We're passing these out to local businesses," Sullivan said. He and Burnett gave a nod to Caleb Wooten, of Fifth Quarter Printing, for supplying the posters .

Sullivan said his office received funding for the Coordinated Community Response Team through the Victims of Crimes Act board. It's administered by the state District Attorneys Council through the Office for Victims of Crimes.

Commissioners passed the resolution during their regular Monday meeting at the Pittsburg County Courthouse.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com

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