Riverside County Board Proclaims October Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Help Pathways and Official Video
The Board of Supervisors of Riverside County, California, formally proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month at its regular meeting on Oct. 27 at the County Administrative Center (4080 Lemon Street) in Riverside, presenting the proclamation to frontline service providers including the county's SAFE Family Justice Centers. RivCo TV, the county television channel, posted the official video of the presentation the same day (about 12 minutes); the video is embedded in this story for on-site viewing.
Supervisor Spiegel joined representatives of the SAFE Family Justice Centers for the presentation. The proclamation noted that domestic violence can happen in any household and that survivors need medical, legal and shelter support, and it aimed to let more residents know that abuse is not a private family matter and where help can be found.
The county's help pathway for victims runs in seven steps:
1. Call the police and keep the record: in a domestic-violence emergency, dial 911 — the police report is the starting point for the legal protection, medical care and services that follow.
2. Tell family or someone you trust: rather than facing it alone; trusted family members and friends can take part in safety planning and provide support along the way.
3. Seek medical care and psychological support: see a doctor promptly to treat any injuries and take up counseling, with referral to psychiatry or psychotherapy by a doctor or counselor when needed. While in counseling, you can also work with a therapist to draw up your own Safety Plan, setting out emergency contacts, safe places and steps to take in advance.
4. Go to a SAFE Family Justice Center: the centers serve victims at locations in Riverside, Murrieta and Indio as a one-stop intake, with legal help, protective-order assistance, counseling and referrals under one roof, and they can help prepare the paperwork for a protective order. The District Attorney's Office also runs a victim services division.
5. Apply to the court for a restraining order (protective order): the Family Justice Center helps victims complete the application, and the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services' domestic-violence page likewise lists the three Family Justice Centers as places to go for help and to complete a restraining-order request. A court-issued domestic violence restraining order runs for a set term; according to the California Courts self-help pages, a renewal request may be filed up to three months before the order expires, a renewed order runs for five years, and a judge may instead make it permanent with no expiration date — and no showing of further abuse since the original order is required to renew.
6. Keep up ongoing medical and specialist follow-up: treating injuries and recovering psychologically is often a long process, and specialist visits and follow-up appointments, including at the SAFE Clinic of Riverside University Health System (RUHS), need to continue as scheduled.
7. Connect to in-home support: for longer-term help with daily living at home, the county's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program can provide follow-on support.
From the first police call through legal protection to medical care and recovery, the whole process can take years and proceeds one step at a time.
In an emergency, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text "START" to 88788, with multilingual help around the clock. Anyone facing an emotional or mental-health crisis, or concerned about a loved one, can also call the national crisis number 800-273-8255, or simply dial 988: both numbers reach the same 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline network, free and confidential, 24 hours a day, with service in English and Spanish and interpretation available in many more languages. Riverside County residents who need services in Chinese can also contact the Asian Pacific Counseling & Treatment Centers (APCTC) of Special Service for Groups (SSG): its Riverside Counseling Center in Moreno Valley serves the county's western region with bilingual mental-health, family counseling and crisis-intervention services in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Korean and Spanish, among other languages. Office phone: (951) 405-8250.
The video in this story comes from the official YouTube channel of RivCo TV and records the domestic-violence proclamation presentation at the Oct. 27 Board of Supervisors meeting, where the supervisor read the proclamation and posed with representatives of the Family Justice Centers and partner agencies.
Related: Orange County Family Justice Center Marks 20 Years; Multilingual Help Including Chinese
Related: Newsom Signs AB 1657, Unifying DV Restraining-Order Rules Statewide
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：10月27日河滨县监事会会议颁赠环节，县监事 Supervisor Spiegel 与 SAFE 家庭司法中心代表出席，画面字幕为「家庭暴力宣传」（河滨县电视台 RivCo TV 官方视频截图）。/ Photo: Supervisor Spiegel with SAFE Family Justice Center representatives at the Oct. 27 Riverside County Board of Supervisors presentation on domestic violence awareness. Still from the official RivCo TV video.
