JACKSON — Four members of the Jackson-Plumsted Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) recently received awards recognizing their active roles as team members and their outstanding service to victims of domestic violence.
During a ceremony held Oct. 21 at Jackson police headquarters, Jackson Police Chief Matthew Kunz recognized Donna Bussiculo, Patricia Dunkin, Kathleen Montegary and Stephany Nad-Weis.
“When a victim [of domestic violence] is brought to police headquarters, police officers will automatically contact the DVRT,” Kunz said. “The DVRT members give victims a chance to speak with people who understand what is happening in their lives and at the same time offer them strategies to help plan for their safety.”
The Jackson-Plumsted DVRT is made up of volunteers who have completed more than 40 hours of training related to domestic violence. The team members learn how to help victims deal with the trauma that domestic violence causes.
Domestic violence is a personal crime, and the victim usually knows his or her assailant. In many cases, the victim was in or is still in an intimate relationship with the offender.
Kunz said that in many cases, the victim and the offender have children together and he said that factor makes it more difficult for the victim to leave an abusive relationship.
A common theme among victims of domestic violence is isolation. Victims can slowly be separated from their friends, family members and even pets until such a point when they realize they have no support system remaining in their life.
Kunz said that is why the DVRT is so important. He said the volunteers offer oneon one support in a safe, non-threatening environment as they give victims of domestic violence the opportunity to take back control of their lives while offering them the resources they may need to accomplish that.
The DVRT is sponsored by Providence House and the Domestic Violence Services unit of Catholic Charities, and Catholic Charities conducts all of the training for team members.
After completing their training, the volunteers join a rotation of members and are called upon by local police agencies to provide assistance to victims in crisis.
Team members also attend regular meetings where they receive additional training and coaching from Nad-Weis, who is a Providence House DVRT specialist.
“Providence House and the Domestic Violence Services unit of Catholic Charities deeply appreciate the Jackson Police Department’s commitment to the community’s domestic violence response team,” said associate director Mary Petrow.
The Jackson-Plumsted DVRT was founded in 2000 and since then its volunteers have helped hundreds of domestic violence victims.
Bussiculo, Montegary and Dunkin have each served on the team for 10 years. Anyone who is interested in joining the Jackson- Plumsted DVRT may contact Stephany Nad-Weis at 732-350-2120