Archive for October 2022
Chase’s CASA Story
Chase Whitaker, a newly graduated law student, attorney, and future Guardian Ad Litem has been volunteering with Henrico CASA for over two years. Prior to his time in Henrico, he served as a volunteer advocate with the CASA program in San Diego. Chase’s most recent case was full of ups and downs with a dramatic…
Read MoreCASA Case: Sam and Christopher’s Story
Sam and Christopher*, two young brothers, were born into a tumultuous home life marked by domestic violence. Over time, their mother realized that although the violence was against her, not the children, it was still hurting them. She recognized that it was her responsibility to protect the boys. She left the abusive relationship and filed…
Read MoreDVAM: 4 Ways to Support a Child Victim
Domestic violence creates an unsafe, unhealthy, and frightening environment for children. The violence may or may not be directed at the children. But the children are victims, all the same. Witnessing intimate partner violence is traumatic. Children may be witnessing it with their own eyes, but they may also hear or sense violence that is…
Read MoreDVAM: What Is Trauma Bonding?
Studies show that domestic violence increased during the COVID pandemic. While data proved this, it also makes sense on a fundamental level. Isolation is an abuser’s greatest tool. And isolation was how the entire world coped with the pandemic. Victims were stuck with abusers and their access to help was restricted. This is the shadow…
Read MoreDVAM: 4 Tips for Safety Plans
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) defines ‘domestic violence’ 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. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, and economic and emotional/psychological abuse.” If you know…
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