Barren River Area Safe Space, Inc. is hitting the road in a new Mobile Advocacy Response Unit, helping eliminate distance as a barrier for domestic violence survivors in a region that spans nearly 4,000 square miles.
Barren River Area Safe Space, Inc. has a new tool to reach more survivors of domestic violence.
On Tuesday, the Bowling Green-based non-profit introduced its new Mobile Advocacy Response Unit in Franklin, the largest county served by BRASS without a brick-and-mortar office.
Executive Director Tori Henninger said the camper van will remove barriers for survivors who may lack transportation to an office or who are apprehensive about seeking help due to the stigma of intimate partner violence.
“It gives us the opportunity to set up in public parking spaces, on the squares in our communities, in shopping locations, places where survivors get to hide in plain sight, where a person is able to seek services and still receive privacy, dignity, and confidentiality," Henninger said.
City Commissioner Jamie Powell, a retired Franklin police chief, said he relied on BRASS many times during his career in law enforcement and is glad to see the organization expanding its outreach.
"As bad as it is, domestic violence occurs every day. A lot of them have lost their lives because they didn't have any place to go," Powell added. "It seems more private to walk into something like this as opposed to a big shelter building, feels safer."
The van is designed to be discreet, with only a small BRASS logo on the back.
"The mobile advocacy unit will give us the opportunity to meet people where they are so they can feel comfortable by helping choose the location," Henninger said. "Sometimes people are being tracked, so if they're unsafe and feel like they can't go somewhere different on their path, we can within their path. If they have to go to WalMart, we can be in the WalMart parking lot."
BRASS serves the counties of Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren, but has only three physical locations.
The camper van is funded, in part, through a $68,000 grant that BRASS received last fall from the Women’s Fund of South Central Kentucky.
Henninger said the van will allow her organization to reach more domestic violence survivors and offer services, including a 24-hours crisis hotline, emergency shelter, safety planning, community referrals, and legal assistance.
BRASS is coordinating with local Chambers of Commerce to host ribbon-cuttings on the the mobile unit in each of the ten counties it serves.
Monday, July 14 — Metcalfe County (Edmonton), 8:00 a.m., Old School Gym, Metcalfe County Elementary School
Tuesday, July 15 — Logan County (Russellville), 12:00 p.m., Logan County Chamber of Commerce
Monday, July 28 — Monroe County (Tompkinsville), 9 a.m., Monroe County Economic Development Center
Tuesday, August 18— Allen County (Scottsville), 11:30 a.m., Allen County Chamber of Commerce
Additional stops in Butler, Barren, Edmonson, Hart, and Warren counties will be announced soon.
If you or someone you know has experienced intimate partner violence, call the BRASS 24-hour crisis line at 1-800-928-1183 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Disclosure: Lisa Autry is member of the BRASS Board of Directors.
