Stop the Domestic Violence Conference Returns to Springfield, MO
Stop the Violence domestic violence conference returns to Springfield on Monday.
It’s hosted by a variety of partners to talk about the state of and resources for domestic violence in our community.
“This was a result of the increase of domestic violence incidents in our community. The first conference was held in 2013, and we are very fortunate to have some really great sponsors and members of the planning committee to help bring this issue to light and be able to bring this conference free of charge to members of the community,” said Kristen Snell, director of engagement and partnerships with Harmony House.
The conference did require registration It takes place at the eFactory on Jefferson on Monday at 8 a.m.
Snell says this is a crucial thing for community members to educate themselves on.
“We always say that an educated community is a safer community. So the more we can talk about this issue, the more awareness we bring and the more safe spaces we create in the community for victims and survivors to come forward,” said Snell.
Springfield-Greene County has some of the highest reported domestic violence cases in the state. In 2022, Springfield Police Department reported nearly 2500 cases of domestic violence.
“Springfield, Green County, has some of the highest rates of domestic violence in the state of Missouri. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause, whether it’s incidents of domestic violence happening or more people coming forward to report those incidents, but we are lucky to be in a community that is very collaborative. So we have a lot of folks coming to the table to address this issue,” said Snell.
There are many partnerships in Greene County to address the issue.
“We have agencies like us, Harmony House. We also have the Greene County Family Justice Center, which is a multidisciplinary team of different agencies in the community, housed in one location where victims can access multiple services in one place, eliminating the need to have to drive across town to different agencies. We also have the victim center, we have the child advocacy center. We have multiple agencies in town who all come to the table regularly to address this issue,” said Snell.
The conference will discuss a variety of things with attendees.
“There will be takeaways of knowledge that maybe other agencies can implement, or just the community learning different dynamics of domestic violence, which might be able to help them more quickly recognize signs of someone that they may know. And then also, we have a panel that will be talking about prevention education in the community, and how the community can get involved to help us spread the message,” said Snell.
Snell encourages everyone, whether you’re attending the conference or not, to educate yourself on domestic violence.
“The more educated we have, the more able we are to support survivors. So whether someone is disclosing for the first time, or maybe they’ve disclosed before in the past, we want to be able to help them in whatever that journey looks like for them, whether it’s leaving staying in the relationship, the more support we give survivors the better chance they have of being able to break that cycle of abuse,” said Snell.
If you or someone you know is struggling in a domestic violence situation, you can reach out to Harmony House 24/7 via call or chat. You can find that information here.
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