New leader, same mission for agency

COEUR d'ALENE - Its mission to empower victims of violence and the community by providing safety, counseling and education hasn't changed, but some things are different at the North Idaho Violence Prevention Center.

The Coeur d'Alene-based nonprofit has a new director, and the agency is providing services to more clients than ever before.

The organization's new leader, Joe Robinson, was introduced to roughly 300 people who attended the center's Stop the Violence Benefit breakfast Thursday at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. Robinson replaces former director Anne Chatfield, who resigned last fall to accept a job in Boise as a contract/grants officer with the Idaho Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance.

"It feels good to step into a new community," Robinson told The Press following the benefit. "So far, I've been really encouraged by the people at the center. They're professional and passionate about the work they do." And there is plenty of work for Robinson and the center staff to get done.

Robinson told the breakfast crowd that the need for services has increased significantly in the last two years.

There were 32 sexual assaults reported to law enforcement in Kootenai County in 2010, Robinson said. That number grew to 77 in 2011. Since January, there have already been 23.

Calls coming into the center have gone from 3,300 per year to more than 7,000, Robinson said. These are calls for various types of assistance including crisis intervention and court advocacy. Calls for counseling contacts have increased by 500.

The number of women and children needing 30-day emergency shelter has gone up as well, often exceeding the capacity of the center's shelter. Clients have been placed elsewhere at times, at motels in the region.

"We're actually moving beyond our walls at this point," Robinson said.

The nonprofit relies heavily on community donations to supplement the grant dollars it receives to fund its operations.

The Stop the Violence benefit breakfast is the agency's main fundraiser this year. Proceeds will support the center's efforts to provide services to North Idaho victims of domestic and sexual violence and the Soroptimist Children's Counseling Center's support of youngsters who have been exposed to, or victims of, family violence.

All services are free and confidential, for victims of all ages and genders.

Funding is also needed to support education and outreach programs provided by the center.

Camie Werely, the center's teen outreach and education coordinator, has been visiting middle and high schools throughout North Idaho since 2006. The focus in the schools is teen dating violence which Werely said affects 1 in 3 teens nationwide.

Teens often confuse jealousy, possessiveness, control and drama for love, Werely said. The results of young, unmoderated, sometimes explosive anger, can be deadly. The prevention center's curriculum is designed to help kids identify these "red flags of abuse." It also gives teens a place to voice their concerns, and the kids are receptive, Werely said.

"They want to talk about their experiences and relationships," Werely said.

Robinson, who grew up in eastern Washington and spent time in North Idaho, said he thinks this type of prevention through education and community awareness is the key to stemming the tide of family and sexual violence.

In addition to Robinson's hire as executive director, the center also has a new development director, Leonard Hendrickx.