Sometimes, it’s the simplest things we take for granted. Like peace and harmony within our families, enough to sit at a dressed table — no television, no iPods — and be fed stomach and soul. For those seeking help at the Women’s Resource Center, Beckley, the thought of one day enjoying a meal in a normal, non-abusive family setting is a faraway destination, and the voyage getting to that sunny place can seem uncharted, pitch black and filled with impossible obstacles.

“The world is moving so fast,” says Dee Sizemore. “Everybody’s just sitting in front of the television.” Sizemore is part of the Fundraising Committee for Women’s Resource Center. She is deeply, personally connected to the mission of helping women and children out of abusive relationships and into a definition of family that is, for them, safe and fulfilling.

It was around the nucleus of the family table image that an idea formed as Sizemore read a text message sent to her from another committee member, Cindy Fazio. It suggested doing a cookbook as a fundraiser. Instead of the run-of-the-mill, cream cheese-filled appetizer, country-fried entrée and sugar-rush dessert recipe collection, Sizemore’s mind cooked up a way to get back to the iconographic family pow-wow — through submissions exhibiting best taste, best nutrition and the best prep time this side of a McDonald’s drive-thru. The Women’s Resource Center’s Family Table inaugural cookbook would incorporate a cook-off competition to encourage entries, would have on each page a complete, communal and nutritious family meal, and would end with a live demonstration and reception event.

“We are accepting easy-to-make four-recipe meal plans including one main dish, two side dishes and one dessert now through March 30th. Only the first 100 submissions will be included in the cookbook and eligible to compete in the cook-off,” Sizemore explains. At the suggestion of another WRC supporter, the cookbook will contain quotes throughout from entrants on what the family table means to them. Submissions are open now  and can be to be sent to: wrcwvcook2011@yahoo.com or The Family Table, 150 Rabbit Run, Beaver, WV 25813.

Devyn Godbey and Marsha Hyatt with Mountain State University’s National Institute for Culinary Arts have the daunting task of narrowing down the 100 meal plans to the final top five creations based on preparation ease, taste and nutrition. Godbey and Hyatt will select the top ten designer meals to be featured at a ticketed reception, April 30th, where attendees can watch the top five recipe creators battle for homemade goodness to win out over Dollar-Menu evil in a live cook-off event at the Culinary School. Winners will receive prizes yet to be determined from corporate sponsors of the event, and reception tickets available for an exclusive tasting and viewing of the competition are limited to 30 people at $20 each. All proceeds will go to support the Women’s Resource Center.

The Family Table Cookbook will publish prior to the April 30th event at $10 each and will be sold throughout spring and summer 2011 while supplies last. Those wishing to show support by pre-ordering their cookbook can call 304-673-6037. The WRC is also seeking corporate sponsors to help develop their prize packages for the winners and to maximize exposure of their business and fundraising efforts.

“I think this could be at least a bi-annual event,” says Fazio, whose idea was sparked by cookbooks she and her husband have accumulated from other nonprofit groups over the years. “Those are always the ones with the best recipes.”



Five Biggest Myths

about Women’s Resource Center and Domestic Violence in W.Va.



By Executive Director Patricia Bailey

1. We hate/bash men and believe that all men are batterers.

This one always makes me smile. Obviously, we know that all men don't batter. We know the majority of men in our society would never consider using violence of any kind (physical, emotional, verbal, financial, sexual), or using tactics of power and control against their intimate partners or any female in their lives.

The problem is with the minority of men who are abusive and who do batter and are not held accountable for their actions and criminal behavior.

I recently had the opportunity to hear Tony Porter, co-founder of “A Call to Men,” speak on engaging men in prevention efforts to end violence and discrimination against women and girls. A Call to Men is a leading national men's organization addressing domestic and sexual violence prevention. It believes that preventing domestic and sexual violence is primarily the responsibility of men, and although historically it has been almost entirely women who have been at the forefront addressing this issue, they think it is essential that men play a primary role in the solution. To do that, well-meaning men… men who, for the most part don’t see themselves as part of the problem… need to get involved. 

Porter states that the silence of well-meaning men is affirming; that when men choose not to speak out against domestic and sexual violence, they are supporting it.  

Think of the difference men in our service area of Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas and Summers counties could make in combating domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence, stalking and bullying! All we need is for someone to stand up and help us!



2. We don’t serve men/offer services to men.

While women represent the overwhelming majority of victims we serve, Women’s Resource Center has been serving male victims of domestic and sexual violence since we began as an organization in 1983. Although the number of victims served in any given year changes, we saw the highest number of male victims served (313) in 2009.  I think the number of male victims we actually serve each year comes as a shock to most people. Women’s Resource Center is committed to the elimination of personal, institutional, and cultural violence against women, children, and men, regardless of their race, creed, age, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability. 



3. Quality of our shelter facility and breadth of services we offer.

I think everyone has a picture in their minds of what they think a “shelter” probably looks like. I always enjoy speaking with individuals after they’ve visited the shelter. It makes us very happy to hear visitors tell us how nice and bright the shelter is, how at home they felt, and their surprise at the amount of privacy and space our residents and their children have. Visitors also leave the shelter understanding the importance of community donations once they see the clothing, personal care items and food that are utilized at the shelter by our residents.

Most people are surprised when they find out what and how many services we actually provide to victims of domestic and sexual violence. Women’s Resource Center offers temporary emergency shelter, individual therapeutic counseling, parenting education, legal, personal and systems advocacy, individual case management, service planning and safety planning, programs to assist child witness/survivors of family violence, 24-hour hotline, crisis counseling and referral, and support groups for domestic violence and for sexual assault survivors. Services are provided at the shelter and in outreach offices located in Raleigh, Fayette, Summers, and Nicholas counties. In addition, WRC oversees a visitation and exchange program to assist noncustodial parents in having access to their children in a safe environment. Women's Resource Center is one of 14 licensed domestic violence programs, one of nine rape crisis centers, and one of seven child visitation and exchange centers in the state of West Virginia.



4. The incidences of domestic violence in Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas and Summers counties are exaggerated.

During 2009-2010, Women’s Resource Center served a total of 2,869 adults and 482 children for a total of 3,351 victims served. During that same period, Women's Resource Center provided 4,771 shelter nights and provided 15,105 units of service to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. We provided 233 public awareness programs to a total of 12,932 individuals. It is important to note that these numbers do not include 141 sexual assault victims during that same period. We provided crisis advocacy/hotline service to 2,600 individuals.

Based on information collected from a review of statewide media reports, between October 2009 and September 2010, there were 36 deaths in West Virginia that appear to be domestic-violence-related. Unfortunately, five of these deaths occurred in our service areas. The number of domestic-violence-related deaths for the 2009-2010 reporting period was considerably higher than those reported last year. With the reported 25 deaths in 2007-2008, 23 deaths in 2008-2009 and 36 deaths in 2009-2010, there have been 84 deaths in West Virginia as a result of domestic violence since October 2007. 

These reports are consistent with statistics for West Virginia over the last several years showing an average of two domestic violence homicides per month.

The Violence Policy Center, a national nonprofit organization that works to prevent gun violence, releases an annual report — “When Men Murder Women: Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Incidents” that ranks states by rates of female homicide. Their recently released report that analyzes 2008 homicide data shows West Virginia in a tie for 12th highest in the nation for number of females murdered by males in single victim/single offender homicides.



Other conclusions from the report include:

n Female intimate partners are most likely to be murdered with a firearm.

n Women are far more likely to be the victims of violent crimes committed by intimate partners than men, especially when a weapon is involved.

n Women are much more likely to be victimized at home than in any other place.

n Females living with a gun in the home were nearly three times more likely to be murdered than females with no gun in the home.

In 2008:

n 92 percent of female victims were murdered by someone they knew.

n In 86 percent of the incidents, homicides were not related to the commission of any other crime.

n African-American women were murdered at a rate more than 2.5 times higher than white women.



The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that the rate of violence against women is higher in rural areas. Forty-five percent of rural perpetrators of violence against women own firearms or other weapons. Elder abuse in rural areas is more likely to consist of physical abuse and deprivation because isolation allows greater opportunities for serious abuse to occur and remain unnoticed. Many rural women hesitate to seek services because rural environments prevent anonymity. Rural women overwhelmingly report the barriers of leaving their abusers as limited job opportunities, insufficient childcare resources and lack of available housing. Rural women may not always have credit in their own name, checking or savings accounts, or control over their own earnings. Rural perpetrators violate protective orders three times more often than all other perpetrators. 



5. Women’s Resource Center receives all the funding they need to operate their program.  

Women’s Resource Center operates the largest domestic violence shelter in the state of West Virginia. Our organization covers four counties (Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas and Summers) in southern West Virginia and operates the shelter facility in Raleigh County, the Beckley and Pettus Outreach Offices in Raleigh County, the Fayetteville Outreach Office in Fayette County, the Hinton Outreach Office in Summers County, and the Summersville Outreach Office in Nicholas County. We employ a total of 29 staff members.

While Women’s Resource Center does receive grant funding from a variety of federal, state, county and local funding sources, in no way does the grant funding come close to satisfying the cost of operating an organization as large as we are. When you look at the number of victims we served during the last fiscal year (3,351 domestic violence victims served and 141 sexual assault victims) and consider the facilities we operate, the staff we employ and the services we provide, we are seriously underfunded.

This is why we depend so heavily on individual, public and private financial contributions and donations. If we had to rely on grant funding alone, we would have already been forced to reduce staff, outreach offices and services we provide to victims of domestic and sexual violence.