Crisis Center Adjusts for Increasing Population | Video

Jenny Castro | 7/13/2012

Forty-six hundred women sought help for domestic violence last year in North Dakota. Domestic violence shelters are seeing extra strain because of the housing crunch. In Minot, the crisis center is making adjustments for the increasing population.

A domestic violence center is a last resort for many women in abusive relationships and the staff in the Minot center sees their numbers vary throughout the day.

"We had four individuals that walked in on Friday afternoon that needed services. They needed either protection orders or either to go to the shelter or none of that was planned and that`s why we`re a crisis center because we don`t know from hour to hour what is going to happen," said Executive Director Dena Filler.

With the limited and costly housing situation in Minot, the center is also being impacted by the minimal housing choices in the city.

"What we saw is when victims came into shelter, they were staying longer because they didn`t have any options. We also saw that they went back to their abusers because they didn`t have these options other housing," said Filler.

The stay at the domestic violence center is 30 days, and this is something victims are told upfront. But still with more individuals circulating through, the staff is straining to continue provide these services, which Filler says is essential for a growing community.

"We all want to be safe and have happy lives and families that live in fear and have violence in their home and so if we can help get those families living violent free then we have a much happier and healthier community."

Currently, the center is split up in four locations with two transitional units, the safe house and the offices. They have locations and plans for combining everything together in one campus, with more room to carry out their services.

Next Tuesday, the Domestic Violence Crisis Center is having their ground breaking ceremony for their new center, the Campus of Hope, located on 11th Avenue southeast.

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