Creating a Safer Future
DVS is dedicated to ending domestic abuse by providing diverse and equitable services for individuals impacted by Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), including their children, and by facilitating a social change.
Each year 1 in 15 children are exposed to Intimate Partner Violence Services, 90% of these children are an eyewitness to this violence. Through the Emergency Shelter 111 children received 9,435 nights in a safe environment.
Violent environments can take an alarming toll on children and leave lasting effects. Violence is a learned behavior, and children who are victims of abuse are four more times likely to being abusers in the future. Short-term effects are generalized anxiety, high activity levels, difficulty concentrating, increased aggression, sleeplessness, nightmares, etc. Long-term effects included but are not limited to physical health problems, behavior problems (e.g. juvenile delinquency, alcohol/substance abuse), emotional difficulties in adulthood (e.g. depression, anxiety, PTSD), lower scores on measure of verbal, motor, and social skills.
Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County has programs that can offer help and hope to our children, breaking the cycle, helping to keep them from becoming abusers themselves. Donations help our efforts to ending the cycle of abuse and creating a safer future for our community.