Ways to Connect with Domestic Violence

Some Ways Churches Can Help
• PASTORS: If you don’t know who to call for advice, call Jo Terry, Director of Community Coalition on Family Violence (690-7745) or David Kitts, Knoxville Police Department, Training Specialist (215-7244).
• Provide compassionate support to any victims you may know.
• Helping with the “Hands Are Not for Hitting”
program in schools (Child and Family Program).
• Volunteer as a puppeteer for Kids on the Block regarding child abuse or bullying in the schools.
• Men: Lead a support group for other men trying to overcome anger. Contact Tom Hale (MENS Program, Child & Family, 524-7483).
• Pastors can learn how to relate to victims of abuse. Become skilled at listening and supporting the abused person in taking steps to get out of an abusive situation.
• Church members can take a “train the trainer” course (a few hours on one day). This could be taught in Sunday school, small groups or as a seminar. Contact Knoxville Police Department: Angela Hill (215-7208).
• Sponsor Bible studies that promote positive marital relationships and equality within marriage, loving each other like Christ loves the church.
• Educate youth about warning signs so they can avoid entering an abusive relationship or abusing others.
• Knox County Health Department, Community Health Services: Charity Smith (215-5179). Become a “safe place” for victims to seek assistance. Place safety cards in restrooms and bulletin boards and hand them out to others as a community awareness effort.
Contact these Agencies for Help, Information & Education
• Knoxville Police Department: David Kitts, Training Specialist, 215-7244
• Family Crisis Center: 637-8000 (24-hour crisis line) or 673-3066
• Sexual Assault Crisis Center: 558-9040
• Child Abuse Hotline: 594-6767
• Serenity Shelter: 971-4673

Prayer and Action
If the emphasis on prayer were an escape from direct engagement with the many needs and pains of our world, then it would not be a real discipline of the compassionate life. Prayer challenges us to be fully aware of the world in which we live and to present it with all its needs and pains to God. It is the compassionate prayer that calls for compassionate action. The disciple is called to follow the Lord not only into the desert and onto the mountain to pray but also into the valley of tears, where help is needed, and onto the cross, where humanity is in agony. Prayer and action therefore can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation.

-Nouwen, McNeill, Morrison, Compassion, A Reflection on the Christian Life, 1982

Community Resource Advocates
• Community Coalition on Family Violence, Jo Terry, 690-7745
• Children’s Advocacy Supervisor, Christy Troutman, 524-1312
• Child & Family Men’s Program, Tom Hale, 524-7483
• Salvation Army, Ola Blackman-McBride 525-9401
• Legal Aid of East Tenn. 637-0484

Shelters That Want Your Help
Family Crisis Center, Child & Family Tenn.,
521-5605
Serenity Shelter, Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries, 971-4673
• Befriend and spend time with families in shelters and after they leave.
• Help move families from shelter into new homes.
• Activities and games with children in groups/events for families.
• Answer the 24-hour phone line.
• Maintenance on shelter buildings.
• Decorating help at houses, help make residents feel welcome.
• Take moms and children out on outings.
• Prepare home-cooked meals and treats.
• Donate presents for birthday parties for children.

Men’s Program, Child and Family Tenn., Tom Hale, 524-7483.
• Offer your professional skills such as financial counseling, job training or other related skills to groups of men in this Batterers’ Prevention Program.

Knox County Courts, Court Watch Program: Sally A. Lighter, 675-3815.
• Volunteer to sit in the courtroom and monitor abuse cases at least one morning a month. The court system needs to know that the community is monitoring the outcome of these cases.
• Will need more volunteers if the program is expanded into the 4th Circuit Court during Orders of Protection.

Below are a few suggestions for area congregations that desire to get involved:
• Provide compassionate support to any victims you may know.
• Volunteer with a local shelter.
• Learn about domestic violence by training church leaders and laity.
• Educate the youth on the signs to look for in an abusive person so they can avoid entering an abusive relationship or treat others abusively.
• Conduct Bible studies that examine equality and mutual submission in the marriage. Batterers typically justify their abusive behavior with the idea that since “he is the head of the wife” that she must “submit” to his abusive behavior.