CARDV has been helping domestic violence victims for

a quarter century

Six years ago, Susie Foster spent three sleepless nights in her van, with her three young children piled up on the seats, constantly in fear of an impending attack. The violent treatment she was receiving from her boyfriend finally reached the point that she fled their shared apartment, but with nowhere to go, she kept her family together in the van, not knowing if her partner would track her down and attack again.

She’d heard about the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence, first from the police officers who responded to the 911 call that prompted her exit from her relationship, and then from someone at her children’s school. She decided to call CARDV’s hotline, simply to find out if there was a way she could protect herself from her violent boyfriend. That’s when she heard about the center’s shelter.

“It was an amazing relief,” she said, to be presented with a safer option than living on the street. The fact that the shelter was clean and home-like was an even bigger surprise.

“I was picturing these dirty places,” she said. Instead, she felt so nurtured and protected, it completely changed the way she felt about herself, and about her future.

“Living in domestic violence, you don’t dream, you don’t hope, you don’t expect anything from this world, because if you don’t, then there’s not disappointment,” she said. But CARDV changed that. “I almost started getting to the point where I could expect to be treated like other people were … I had a tremendously powerful experience.”

Foster is now a graduate student at the University of Oregon, something she believes she would never have achieved without CARDV. She received a scholarship for her undergraduate work at Oregon State University with the help of the center, and by learning to believe in herself, has already achieved more than she ever dreamed, she said.

In 1977, Corvallis Women Against Rape was formed, offering a rape crisis hotline to local women. About a year later, the Linn-Benton Association for the Prevention of Domestic Violence was created, and received a grant to purchase a house for use as a confidential women’s shelter. By 1981, the two organizations merged, and CARDV was born.

By January 1982, CARDV had found an expansive farmhouse at the edge of town to purchase and turn into a shelter and offices. It was important to use a nondescript private home for the safety of the women and children in the shelter, so that their abusers could not track them down.

At the time, the center depended almost entirely on volunteer support. Today, there is a paid staff of 20 in addition to a dedicated crew of volunteers, as well as two confidential shelter houses.

The center offers services to survivors of sexual assault, has a response team that accompanies law enforcement during rape and sexual assault cases and offers support to domestic violence survivors. It also offers advice to friends and family members whose loved ones are involved in an assault.

Mary Zelinka has worked with CARDV since the beginning and said in its 25-year history, she’s seen a major shift in awareness surrounding domestic violence.

“I think people now recognize domestic violence and sexual violence as being issues. In the early days, the general public did not,” Zelinka said. “It was a really radical concept that women were getting sexually assaulted and beaten in relationships.”

But just because the public now recognizes domestic violence as a major social issue, the problem itself hasn’t disappeared, or even lessened, said Nancy O’Mara, executive director of CARDV.

“All of us who’ve been doing this work are agreed on that,” O’Mara said. While she doesn’t think domestic violence has increased, the public is hearing about it more often, because there is more awareness that violence in the home is unacceptable, and that there are now resources like CARDV available for those exposed to domestic violence.

O’Mara said CARDV is working with Corvallis Neighborhood Housing Services to secure eight to 10 subsidized housing units, which will help shelter residents make the transition from the shelter into apartments of their own.

A federal grant has allowed CARDV to work with Linn County on forming a domestic violence response team, enabling CARDV volunteers to comfort and offer support to women and families in violent situations.

CARDV is also working on several school programs aimed at teaching younger children how to recognize and report dangerous situations to a trusted adult, and teaching teens how to have healthy relationships.

Meanwhile, CARDV continues its mission to educate, protect and serve and to spread the message that violence is never acceptable.

“People have a right to be safe,” Zelinka said. “You are supposed to be safe in your homes and in your relationships.”

For more information

If you need advice or support because of a domestic violence or sexual assault situation, CARDV’s 24-hour free hotline is 754-0110. To make a donation of money or goods to CARDV, or to volunteer, call 758-0219.

Theresa Hogue is features reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at theresa.hogue@lee.net or by phone at 758-9526.