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Harbor Inc. provides safe haven for women

By Sarah A. Wise
NL Staff Writer

5 March 2008 — For 24 years Harbor, Inc. has been providing services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Johnston County.

Earlier this month, as she has for several years, Harbor’s executive director Keri Christensen came before the Princeton town board asking for inclusion in the town’s annual budget. The board has included funding for the organization in the past, but the personal appearances and the videos Keri brings serve as a reminder to the board of the need for the organization in Johnston County.

“There are victims in Princeton,” said Keri in a recent interview. “There are victims everywhere in Johnston County. Domestic violence and sexual assault aren’t specific to one area or ethnic group or age group. There are victims everywhere.”

The organization’s reach has extended beyond Johnston County into Wayne County over the last few years, as Wayne County’s only battered women’s shelter closed its doors.
Keri said the mission of Harbor, Inc. is twofold. First, the organization exists to serve the immediate needs of victims of abuse.

The organization has a myriad of ways to immediately assist victims. The most immediate source for anyone in a violent situation is the 24-hour crisis helpline. Callers can receive information and support immediately by calling the line, whether they just need to talk or are ready to make a plan of action to leave their abuser.

“Leaving is the most dangerous time,” said Keri. Harbor hotline workers can help callers to make a safe plan to leave their abuser and find a safe place to stay.

She adds that, even if someone isn’t sure they are ready to leave, it’s important to take the step and contact someone.

“Most women who are murdered by their abuser have never linked up,” she said. “Even if they aren’t ready, or aren’t sure if they’re ready, it’s important to contact us.”

Harbor also has a shelter for displaced women and children who leave their abuser, but have no place to go.

The shelter, located in Smithfield, has a capacity of 14 women and children. It provides a safe place for displaced families to recover and begin a new life.

In addition to a safe place, Harbor also offers a range of services to women and their families as they get back on their feet.

The organization offers individual and group counseling services for all victims, as well as a children’s program. They also offer a displaced homemaker program, which gives women who were serving as homemakers the skills needed to join or rejoin the workforce and support their families.

Harbor also provides a range of services for victims of sexual assault. Whenever a rape is reported in Johnston County, Harbor is called in to assist the victims. They provide support to victims at the hospital and provide services and counseling, assisting victims through the court process as well.

But equally as important is a mission to educate women about abuse.

“The most important thing is that every victim knows that resources are available,” Keri said. “Women die every day, many have in Johnston County, and we want to make sure that women know there is help.”

She adds that domestic violence is a cycle, both for abusers and victims, and the only way to stop the cycle is to educate and change societal views.

“We need for young people to be able to see the warning signs,” she said. “As young women, we tend to think if our boyfriend is jealous, that means he cares about us. But intense jealousy is an early warning sign of domestic violence.”

She adds that many early signs can seem flattering at first – jealousy, wanting to become serious quickly, insisting on being alone often. But those signs often intensify into isolation and abuse.

Over the years, many women have come from that kind of abuse, and have gone through the programs at Harbor successfully, but a few examples stick out in Keri’s mind.

One woman, whom she called Misty, came to the shelter a few years ago as the young mother of a one-year-old daughter. She left an abusive live-in boyfriend, and stayed in the shelter for a while.

During her time at Harbor, Misty attended all of the classes and support groups, and finished her education. She was able to get a good job at a daycare, and has recently moved into a place of her own, supporting herself and her daughter.

She also remembers a pair of mothers and daughters who had been victims of sexual assault. The pairs sought services from Harbor to end the cycle of victimization and abuse, and have done well.

Though the group provides a myriad of supportive services, Keri said that they face a common criticism – that victims always return to their abusers.

“Women often leave seven to ten times before they leave for the last time,” Keri said.

But she adds that her services apply to all victims, not just those who know they are ready to leave for the last time.

“Even if half of the women we help do go back, the half that don’t make all of your services worthwhile,” she said.

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