FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, November 27, 2019
CONTACT Brenda Kinoshita, Cell 971-235-4203;
Email: brendak@cwsor.org

Oregon City, OR (November 27, 2019) —This holiday season, The Angels in the Outfield will host a Holiday Store for domestic and sexual violence survivors, and children impacted by crime. Holiday Store is an annual tradition offered to survivors and their children during the holiday season. Historically provided by Clackamas Women’s Services (CWS), The Angels in the Outfield and CWS are collaborating for a second year to support even more families.

Holiday Store provides new gifts for survivors at no cost. The holidays can be difficult for survivors of violence, many of whom are struggling to find safety and shelter, navigating court systems and challenging family dynamics, all while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy and holiday spirit for their children. Holiday Store takes the stress and financial burden off of survivors and allows them to provide gifts for their children. Unlike other types of holiday giving, Holiday Store allows parents themselves to select from among donated gifts, giving survivors a renewed sense of empowerment and ownership that reaffirms their role as provider within their family.

“Holiday Store helps during the holidays because it allows survivors to be normal parents again and enjoy the holidays, which they may have not had the opportunity to do for a very long time. Often finances can be tight after people flee an abusive relationship and Holiday Store can really relieve that pressure of choosing whether to pay a utility bill or buy a holiday gift,” Angie Drake, CWS Shelter and Housing Program Manager, said, “Survivors experience so much isolation and Holiday Store is a way we can communicate to survivors that they have a whole big community of people behind them cheering for them and supporting them.”

Clackamas Women’s Services first reached out to The Angels in the Outfield about the project because of shared missions to help vulnerable populations in Clackamas County. Through their combined efforts, Holiday Store helped 173 families, with 440 children receiving gifts from the store last December. This partnership not only increased the number of families served, it has also rallied local civic groups and businesses to come together to support children affected by domestic violence, crime, and child abuse.

“Words can’t adequately express the gratitude we feel for this community and the support they provide for our kids. These children, through no fault of their own, are victims of unimaginable circumstances. The Holiday Store donations provide hope, joy and encouragement for their futures in the form of a Christmas book, a fun toy or a new winter coat. It takes a village of givers and volunteers, and Angels in the Outfield has certainly got one!” said Julie Peters, Angels in the Outfield Treasurer.

To bring joy to families this holiday season, your organization, family, or group can collect new toys to be given to families in need at Holiday Store. Information on how to make a donation and volunteer can be found on The Angels in the Outfield website www.theangelsintheoutfield.org. Donations can be dropped off at any of The Angels in the Outfield drop off locations before December 14^th.

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About Clackamas Women’s Services

The mission of Clackamas Women’s Services is to break the isolation of domestic and sexual violence. CWS was incorporated in 1985 as Clackamas County’s first shelter for women and children escaping family violence and domestic abuse. CWS’ service delivery framework is built on trauma-informed best practices that promote safety and self-determination. Participants in their programs receive no-cost services by highly trained staff with advanced expertise. The 24-hour crisis line is 1-888-654-2288. To learn more, please visit https://www.cwsor.org/.

About The Angels in the Outfield

The Angels in the Outfield is a non-profit organization seeking to brighten the lives of children who have been impacted by crime or child abuse. Their mission is to promote healing, happiness, and safety of children through the generosity of their contributors. Services provided to each child are determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on each child’s specific needs. To learn more, please visit https://www.theangelsintheoutfield.org/.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, Jan. 23rd, 2019
CONTACT: Melissa Erlbaum, (503) 557-5810, melissae@cwsor.org

Statement from Melissa Erlbaum, Executive Director at Clackamas Women’s Services, on Quadruple Domestic Violence Homicide in Canby

“Our hearts go out to the survivors, their families, and the whole Canby and Woodburn area in the wake of this terrible tragedy. This loss is not just loss for the family, but for the entire community.

“While we search for answers and await more information about this terrible crime, it is important to remember that domestic violence is a cycle of abusive behavior that often starts with subtle psychological abuses that grow in frequency and severity over time. While individual factors such as mental health, addiction, or prior abuse are often correlated with violence, the true underlying cause is the desire to maintain power and control over one’s victims. Perpetrators escalate their violence over time–sometimes to the point of lethal forms of violence, including strangulation. Numerous studies show how dangerous people who strangle others are not only to their primary targets but to others in their path.

“We are so grateful for the incredible response we’ve already witnessed from concerned and caring individuals—a special thank you to the first responders we work so closely with at Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and 911 Dispatch who responded to the domestic violence homicide. Additionally, thank you to the incredible neighbors who have offered their care and support, the elected officials, social service providers, partner agencies, mental health professionals and school officials who are doing what they can to support their community. In times like these we are reminded of the power and resiliency of a community that stands together and carries each other toward healing in the midst of difficulty.

“This is an unfortunate reminder that domestic violence does not impact just one victim or one family, but impacts us all, from those closest to the harm to those of us hearing of this awful story. As concerned and caring community members, we all have a part to play in addressing domestic violence and ensuring victims have access to short and long-term support with the resulting trauma.

“If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic violence, know that we will always be here to provide confidential advocacy and safety planning on our 24-hr Crisis Line: (503) 654-2288 or through our drop-in advocacy services located at A Safe Place Family Justice Center, open Mon.-Thurs. 8am-4pm and Fri. 8am-1pm.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Aney, Director of Development and Communications
Phone: 503-557-5820
Email: johna@cwsor.org

Oregon City, Ore., October 17, 2018 — Jennie Willoughby, whose story of abuse at the hands of former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter gained national media attention in February of this year, will be speaking at Clackamas Women’s Services’ 2018 Pathways Gala and Auction this month. Jennie will be the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the event, the largest annual fundraiser held by the community nonprofit.  Jennie’s writing has been published in Time Magazine, and her op-ed in the Washington Post was the inspiration behind the #AndSoIStayed movement. Jennie has become a powerful voice for domestic violence survivors, and has used her platform to educate about domestic violence, its long-term impact on survivors, and what must be done to combat it effectively and help survivors heal.

“We need to make it clear that domestic abuse of any kind is wrong and unacceptable,” Willoughby said, speaking at a YWCA Greenwich event in May. “We need to be willing to have the uncomfortable conversations and face that abuse head on. We need to have the uncomfortable conversations with our family, with our neighbors and with ourselves. It’s necessary to draw a line in the sand and vehemently condemn a person’s abusive actions with no equivocation, no rationalization and no watering it down.”

Since 1987, October has been recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This month is nationally recognized each year as a month to express continued efforts toward ending domestic violence, providing safety for victims of domestic violence and their families, and holding perpetrators accountable. It is also a month to recognize and commend domestic violence advocates, domestic violence victim service providers, crisis hotline staff, and first responders for their compassionate support, according to the 2017 Congressional Record Supporting the goals and ideals of the month.

At a time when the national conversation about violence against women has been at the forefront, CWS is looking forward to bringing Jennie’s inspirational leadership here to Oregon.

“The courage that Jennie and other survivors have shown in publicly sharing their stories of abuse this past year has been a remarkable, watershed moment in our movement to end violence against women,” said Melissa Erlbaum, Executive Director of Clackamas Women’s Services. “It shed a light into the dark places and history shows us that change grows with that light.”

The Clackamas Women’s Services Pathways Gala and Auction is held yearly and provides for a significant portion of private funding for the agency and the services offered at no cost to domestic and sexual violence survivors in the community.

The 2018 Pathways Gala and Auction will be held at the beautiful Oregon Golf Club on Thursday, October 18^th.

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About Clackamas Women’s Services

The mission of Clackamas Women’s Services is to break the isolation of domestic and sexual violence. CWS was incorporated in 1985 as Clackamas County’s first shelter for women and children escaping family violence and domestic abuse. CWS’ service delivery framework is built on trauma-informed best practices that promote safety and self-determination. Participants in our programs receive no-cost services by highly-trained staff with advanced expertise. The mission of Clackamas Women’s Services is to break the isolation of domestic and sexual violence. The 24-hour crisis line is 1-888-654-2288. To learn more, please visit https://www.cwsor.org/.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, February 26, 2018
CONTACT: Melissa Erlbaum, (503) 557-5810, melissae@cwsor.org

Statement of Melissa Erlbaum, Executive Director at Clackamas Women’s Services, on SB 1562 A

“We are incredibly moved by the powerful testimony offered today before the House Committee on Judiciary in support of SB 1562 A to update and expand the definition of strangulation and to increase the crime to a felony within the context of domestic violence cases. The diversity of voices we heard today, which included prosecutors, legislators, law enforcement, victims’ advocates, and survivors, is indicative of just how many lives the crime of strangulation impacts and threatens if we fail to respond adequately.

“Near or nonfatal strangulation is common within domestic violence cases. People who are abusive use strangulation to demonstrate they have the power to kill their partners at any moment without the use of weapons. It is an incredibly effective way of controlling whether their partner leaves or seeks safety in the community. Especially when committed through pressure applied to the chest, strangulation can leave few visible marks and thus remains an invisible manipulative tool that protects people who are abusive from immediate arrest by law enforcement.

“The act of strangulation has often been a predictor of additional violence and lethality.  A person who strangles their partner is 7 times more likely to kill that partner in the future if appropriate intervention is not taken or if the offender is not held accountable.  Fatal and nonfatal strangulation are also predictive of other forms of violence including mass shootings.

“This legislation is critical to protecting survivors and the larger community from further harm and livelong impacts of the inevitable terror they experience after being strangled. Individuals who commit strangulation are dangerous to survivors and our communities and without this violence being properly defined and or addressed, victims are left vulnerable to increased lethality. We strongly urge this legislation move forward before more lives are threatened by this terrible act of violence.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 13, 2018
CONTACT: Chris Wilhite, Director of Development and Communications
Phone:  (503) 557-5820; chrisw@cwsor.org

[Oregon City, OR] Today Clackamas Women’s Services cut the ribbon on The Village, the historic emergency shelter for families fleeing domestic and sexual violence in Clackamas County. The 32-year shelter has been closed to survivors for over a year during the reconstruction and expansion of the building. Today stakeholders and community partners gathered to commemorate the opening of the much needed safe housing for escaping violence, funded by a $1.8 million capital campaign.

“We are all so grateful to now have a shelter house whose design truly reflects the Village Model of emergency shelter for survivors escaping domestic and sexual violence,” said Melissa Erlbaum, Executive Director at CWS. “This new building will allow the case managers at Clackamas Women’s Services to better integrate with participants, building that sense of community that breaks the isolation of abuse. And I am so inspired by the broader community of supporters, from households to foundations to local businesses, who made this possible.”

The CWS shelter first opened its doors to domestic violence survivors in 1986, and the original craftsman home provided safety and relief for numerous women and children in danger.  After many years of sheltering families, the program outgrew and outlived the existing structure. The new home, called The Village, continues the core services of the previous shelter while expanding services and space for families.

CWS and the Home Builders Foundation broke ground on the project in fall of 2016. Since then the home builder community and two jurisdictions have supported the project with nearly $1 million through in-kind support and donors to CWS have contributed $665,884 in a one-time special capital campaign. These funders include the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund, Oregon Community Fund, Mike and Kay Wells, The Silvey Family Foundation, PCC Structurals, Providence Health and Services, Benchmade Knife Company, The Ash Grove Charitable Foundation, and Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation among many others.

“Home Builders Foundation is proud of the amazing partnerships that made this project possible. From the great support of Clackamas County, to members of the Home Builders Association and others in the building community, to Home Builders Foundation (HBF)and Clackamas Women’s Services. It was definitely a team effort. Over seventy trade partners came together to donate or heavily discount labor and materials for the project. It is a beautiful, safe and dignified place for women and children escaping family violence and domestic abuse and HBF is proud to have been involved from the beginning of this project,” says Brenda Ketah, Executive Director of the Home Builders Foundation.

Each room of the new shelter was designed specifically with trauma survivors in mind.  Despite its size, the shelter feels like a cheery and welcoming home, with bright paint colors, hardwood floors and lots of natural light. The house is a mixture of private family rooms and communal kitchen and living room spaces designed to help build connection among survivors and break the isolation typically associated with domestic violence. The rebuild incorporates an expanded play room for children and a new room for teens, a multipurpose meeting space for support groups, art therapy, or yoga, and separate entrance for past shelter residents to return to the community they were part of after moving out to live on their own.

Shelter space for domestic and sexual violence survivors is much needed in Portland area and throughout the country, with domestic violence being the third largest cause of homelessness among women.  Without safe space for families to escape to, survivors are often left to choose between remaining with an abusive partner or leaving into homelessness. With three women killed each day in the U.S. by a current or former intimate partner, a safe space to land is imperative in keeping families and larger communities safe.

Survivors will be able to move into The Village as soon as tours for partnering agencies and the finishing touches on the space are complete. If an individual is experiencing domestic or sexual violence and in need of shelter, they can connect with a confidential CWS advocate at A Safe Place Family Justice Center, open M-F 8am-4pm.

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About Clackamas Women’s Services

Clackamas Women’s Services was incorporated in 1985 as Clackamas County’s first shelter for women and children escaping family violence and domestic abuse. CWS’s service delivery framework is built on trauma-informed best practices that promote self-determination. Participants in our programs receive no-cost services by highly-trained staff with advanced expertise. The 24-hour crisis line is 1-888-654-2288. To learn more, please visit https://www.cwsor.org/.

About Home Builders Foundation

Home Builders Foundation, established in 1997, is the charity of choice for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland. Their mission is to build transitional shelter for families and individuals experiencing homelessness through the Portland metro area. Visit BuildHopePDX.org for more info.