Crisis center aims to help families, and teach new positive behaviors
For individuals or families in Auglaize County who are affected by family violence, there is somewhere to turn. The Auglaize County Crisis Center is a resource whose goals extend beyond being a safe place for those affected.
“Our mission is to ensure the safety, dignity, and self direction of those at risk families who have experienced the cycle of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and teen dating violence,” said the Crisis Center’s Executive Director Shirley Longworth.
The center provides 24 hour immediate crisis intervention though an on-call system that is provided to them via the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office.
“We provide a risk assessment or danger assessment, risk reduction is our goal, and safety planning for each individual,” said Longworth. She explained that a decision is made immediately for each call coming into the center.
“The urgency is decided by the on call staff person. They could determine that the family requires residential services, or non-residential services,” said Longworth. Longworth said that she believes when most people think of their services, they only think of them in terms of the shelter they provide access to.
“Case management includes the assessment of both short, and longterm needs of each adult and child served. We assist each family and prioritize those goals, starting with the most basic needs,” said Longworth.
Longworth explained that over 30 days, it allows her advocates to explore long term goals with the families or individuals.
“Long term goals such as education, job skills training and programs of intervention and prevention,” said Longworth. The programs offered include a domestic violence program, parenting parenting enriching, anger management for children K-12, and a teen dating violence program.
Longworth noted that while they offer shelter to those in need, it doesn’t address the root cause of the problems. “Providing shelter without programs, provides immediate safety, but doesn’t seek to end the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence in our families,” said Longworth. Those generational cycles have lead to visible impacts on the community.
“What we see is a great need for more law enforcement, and larger prison systems. Over 90 percent of violent people in our systems, have been nurtured in environments of neglect and abuse,” said Longworth. Those environments, Longworth explained, lead to neglect and abuse becoming learned behaviors. “Little girls are more likely to become victims, while boys are more likely to become offenders, when they live in these environments.”
“Our goal is to help teach families to recognize characteristic of both healthy, and unhealthy relationships, and to reduce interpersonal violence within the household,” said Longworth. The program offers positive communication skills, active listening skills, effective problem solving, and decision making. “Those tools seem to address the needs of the families with re-learning positive behaviors within the family system.”
The center receives referrals through Auglaize County Children’s Services, The Department of Job and Family Services, courts, and individuals that call in who are in crisis. Longworth said that during COVID it was difficult, but they’re getting back to normal.
“We’re getting back to where we can assist families and provide them nurturing, positive, interpersonal relationships, and methods to deal effectively with conflict,” said Longworth.
If you are in crisis you can visit any of the agencies mentioned above, or call them at 419-7385511 for help. Longworth noted that they do not publish their physical address due to safety concerns, but that if you know where they are located, you can visit in person and that they do take walk ins.