Each year, millions of men, women, and children flee their homes, leave their belongings behind, and start their lives anew in an effort to escape domestic violence and the potentially deadly grasps of their abusers. Some move across the country and change their names. Others move in with family and enter into counseling. Those with less supports, be them social or financial, enter into emergency and transitional shelters which specifically serve victims of domestic violence. Each one of the individuals fleeing abuse looks, thinks, and speaks at least a little differently than the other. They come from all walks of life, and among them every ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and age is represented. They experienced different forms of abuse, and while one may be a woman who was severely beaten or brutally raped by her husband, another may be a man who was fatally threatened, stalked, or harassed by his partner. However different their stories and backgrounds may be, they are a united group supported by Interface and the belief that not one of them deserved to be abused.
Interface Children & Family Services believes that no one ever deserves to be abused, especially within the context of an intimate relationship, and that all individuals should have the opportunity to exercise their right to define their personal relationships and spaces as violence-free zones. We have been working to provide supportive services for victims and survivors of domestic violence for the previous three decades within Ventura County. Specifically, Interface’s Safe Haven Emergency Shelter and Safe Journey Transitional Shelters provides victims with anywhere between 30 days to one year of supportive living that is free from violence. We address the needs of survivors, but we also address the needs of the unheard voices of those victims who face so many barriers to leaving their abusive relationship that becoming a survivor is often a seemingly unobtainable reality for them. Through our prevention, outreach, and educational programming, we attempt to reach those individuals who are experiencing, and at-risk of experiencing, domestic violence. As long as even one person experiences domestic violence in Ventura County, we will continue to provide domestic and family violence prevention and intervention services, and we will continue to do so with the utmost respect and understanding of the specific needs of the various victims and survivors of abuse in our community.