Domestic violence organizations in Connecticut want victims of abuse to know help is always available even though offices are no longer open.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal says, "At this moment of high tension and anxiety there's a greater potential for abuse and violence in homes."
Deb Greenwood is the CEO of the
Center for Family Justice, which is one of 17 confidential services for domestic abuse victims in the state. Coronavirus concerns have domestic abuse staff working from home.
"Our fear right now is we are hoping that because someone might be isolated and they are not sure how exactly to access the hotline if the abuser is certainly living in the household, they'll know they can reach out via social media," says Greenwood.
Greenwood says you can always send a message to the Center for Family Justice's Facebook page if you can't make a phone call. If you can safely make a call there are several options like calling 911 or the center's 24-hour hotline.
Luke Robbins is the director of counseling at the Rowan Center, a sexual assault resource agency. He says the center's office doors are closed, but almost all of its resources are still available.
"Realistically at these times, we are going to see people who are stuck in situations where they don't feel safe for any number of reasons and we just want them to know whatever we can do to get hurdles out of the way we can support them," says Robbins.
The
Rowan Center is still offering virtual counseling to existing clients and taking on new ones.
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