Powhatan takes on domestic violence

Last year at this time, Powhatan County was one of the fastest-growing communities in the region and had gone six years without a homicide.

Now, the county's economy -- like the nation's, state's and region's -- has slowed, and a community that once seemed immune to such violence has seen five slayings since June.

That three of the slayings involved family disputes reveals a truism: No matter where you live, bad things can happen.

So, late last year, Lynn Murphy was appointed coordinator for the county's domestic violence prevention program. And while the position is geared toward abuse directed at women, Murphy said events in the county show an expanding need for intervention.

Statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence show that 85 percent of domestic violence victims are women, Murphy said.

The group also reports that one out of every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, and the residents of Powhatan are no exception, Murphy said.

Eventually, Murphy said, her office will be able to help families in crisis and may be able to head off some of the tensions that contributed to the domestic disputes the county has seen recently.

"Certainly there are families in turmoil and use violence to resolve conflict," Murphy said.

Murphy said Powhatan's Victim/Witness Assistance Program director, Wendy McClellan, reported that in fiscal 2008, her office provided direct services to 77 victims of domestic violence in the county.

"It's everywhere," Murphy said. "It happens everywhere to people with very diverse backgrounds regardless of education, economic status [or] religious background."

"It happens to a lot of people. They just don't talk about it."

Robert R. Cosby, chairman of the Powhatan Board of Supervisors, said the service is needed.

"It is certainly a very [desirable] service to citizens in that situation," he said.

The county does not have a shelter but uses the women's shelters in Hanover, Henrico and Chesterfield counties and Richmond, as well as Madeline's House in Nottoway County.

Even with the number of shelters in the area, space is always an issue, especially in rural areas that are less likely to have their own, Murphy said. Across the state, 1,759 families who asked for shelter in 2007 could not be provided for because of a lack of space, Murphy said.

In five to seven years, Murphy said, she would like Powhatan to have its own shelter that also could serve Cumberland and Goochland counties. "I think that's a lofty goal," she said. "It could happen, though."

Murphy, a former child protective services social worker, provides victims counseling about domestic violence and discusses everything from safety steps to organizing finances, to plans to leave an abusive situation.

For now, however, the emphasis is on getting the word out about the program. That means meeting with counselors at Powhatan High School, speaking to adult groups at the YMCA, and passing out literature about the program at churches and grocery stores and anywhere else frequented by women, Murphy said.

Murphy's office has no money for many of the programs she envisions, but a task force has been organized to, among other things, coordinate how the county's various offices and agencies respond to domestic violence. "So we can coordinate our services and not really duplicate them," she said.

"I think . . . we should become the go-to program for domestic training in the county as it relates to domestic violence," Murphy said.

The goal is for the county's residents to live lives that are healthy, safe and free of violence. "Definitely got lots of room to grow," Murphy said.