Grand County Advocates General Info

Domestic violence is the single major cause of injury to women, outnumbering auto accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.

ADVOCATES: Victim Assistance Team works to end domestic violence and sexual assault in Grand County, Colorado. Since 1979 ADVOCATES has provided a safe haven for battered individuals and their children to seek support, understanding and necessary services to help end the cycle of violence in Grand County. ADVOCATES handles over 400 calls for assistance each year.

Trained staff and volunteers operate the ADVOCATES 24-hour crisis line, which provides immediate assistance in domestic violence and sexual assault situations.

When police respond to such incidents, an Advocate may work with the victim to offer support, information, assistance, referrals and temporary safe housing if needed.

Fifty percent of 18 year old women have experienced abuse in at least one dating relationship.

Keep Yourself Safe!

Contact ADVOCATES if you are interested in developing a personalized safety plan. They can also identify community resources and teach you the risks involved in leaving and staying.

If you are in danger, call 911 if it is possible to do so.
Plan with your children in case of a serious battering incident. Identify a safe place for them, such as a room with a lock or a neighbor's house. Assure them that their job is to stay safe, not to protect you!
If you decide to leave, take the following items with you. Pack them in advance and keep them at the home of a trusted friend or relative.
- Passports, green cards or work permits
- School and medical records
- Money, bank books and credit cards
- Lease agreements and/or house deed
- Keys to car, house and office
- Clothes
- ID card or driver's license
- Birth certificates
- Insurance papers
- Car registration
- Address books and photos
If the abuser has moved out, change the locks on your doors and get locks for the windows. Screen your calls and/or get Caller ID. Consider changing your phone number.

Of the children who witness domestic violence, over 60% of the boys eventually become batterers.

ADVOCATES helps break the Cycle of Violence

Violence is a person using pain or fear to force you to do something.
Violence is someone hurting your body or things that you care about.
Violence is using words to scare, bully, embarrass, hurt or put you down.
Violence is someone touching you or asking you to touch them in a place or way that doesn't seem right to you.

Domestic violence includes both physical assault and emotional abuse. Living with abuse wears down your spirit and tears away at your security and self-esteem. Children learn and repeat this cycle of destructive behavior as adults. Whenever you have been placed in physical, verbal, emotional or sexual danger, or have been controlled by the threat or use of force, you have been battered or abused.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Crisis Line: (970) 725-3412
Office Phone: (970) 725-3442

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