Northwest Hospital's domestic violence program coordinator is using new technology to help those who are strangled.

A forensic light can detect bodily fluids, gun shot residence and bone fragments naked to the average eye. It also can pick up fingerprints around a victim's neck, which will help identify and provide documentation for patients who may have been strangled in episodes of domestic violence.

Strangulation is increasingly being taken seriously, as it can cause a person to fall unconscious. A few minutes can cause brain damage, Northwest case manager Cassie Offutt told WYPR this month.

Maryland legislators are currently reviewing House Bill 819 and Senate Bill 593, which would make strangulation a first-degree assault.

-Elizabeth Leis-Newman

House of Ruth Launches Boutique

by Audrey Bergin, MA, Coordinator, Domestic Violence(DOVE)Program at Northwest Hospital

The Domestic Violence Program at Northwest Hospital (DOVE) partners with many local agencies, including the House of Ruth, which provides emergency shelter and legal services for many of our clients. We are very excited to find out about a new consignment shop in our backyard which benefits the House of Ruth.

Ruth's Closet is new resale boutique in Owings Mills with women's clothing, shoes, handbags and jewelry. There will be an evening gown trunk show in the Value Village Shopping Center starting today and going through Sunday, and times can be seen here.

We are collaborating with Ruth's Closet, as many domestic violence victims leave their homes with only the clothes on their back. Other times, their abuser destroys their clothes. Some victims may be entering the work force for the first time and need clothes for the work place. We are working with Ruth's Closet to find a way to allow our clients to shop there, with DOVE covering the costs.

This will also be an opportunity for Northwest employees to participate in a clothing drive. Whether it's the trunk show or donating, there are great opportunities to support local victims of domestic violence! To volunteer or donate to Ruth's Closet, click here.

Northwest Advocate Recognized

By Audrey Bergin, MA, Coordinator
Domestic Violence(DOVE)Program at Northwest Hospital

Baltimore County’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Council has recognized an individual for the leadership they have brought to the challenge of reducing domestic violence in our community. Recently Cassie Offutt, Advocate for the Domestic Violence at Northwest Hospital was awarded this honor at Baltimore County’s Domestic Violence Conference, in front of hundreds of colleagues.

She was nominated by multiple colleagues in the domestic violence community for her dedication to victims. Cassie works with the police in local precincts conducting home visits with victims who have recently been assaulted and scored “high” on a Lethality Assessment (meaning the violence in their life, could become lethal). She follows up with victims until they are safe. Cassie also provides court accompaniment for Protective Orders and criminal cases. The police and lawyers who she works with cannot praise her enough.

One colleague said she is “paramount in assisting us with domestic violence strangulation cases.” Another said, “She does whatever is necessary to make a client safe.” “She is an invaluable asset to our work and to the work of all domestic violence agencies.”

Cassie motivates and inspires others with her enthusiasm and her dedication. She was awarded for leading by her example. As a result of Cassie’s hard work, the Domestic Violence Program at Northwest has been able to serve hundreds more victims each year.

To learn more, call 410-601-WELL (9355).

Sinai Hospital Hosts A Line in the Sand

If you've been in the Sinai Hospital atrium in the past week, your eye may have been caught by a series of evocative and stunning photographs.

They are part of the A Line in the Sand exhibit, which has toured for two years and is making its final stop this month at Sinai. Against the backdrop of this exhibit, House of Ruth Maryland, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence, held a press conference at Sinai Thursday to announce two important initiatives.

The first is a teen-focused website, youlovemeyoulovemenot.com, which encourages teens to take an interactive "Rate Your Relationship" quiz. This website, funded in part from a grant from Verizon Foundation and CoverGirl, encourages teens to define, in their own words, what "you love me" or "you love me not" means by uploading video clips, texts and photos. The site also provides the warning signs of an abusive relationship and gives tips on staying safe.

The second is a new partnership with Alpha Chi Omega, which is working with the House of Ruth Maryland on a teen curriculum that will be used to help young people understand domestic violence.

Speakers at the press conference included Bill and Michele Mitchell, pictured above, whose daughter Kristin was killed at age 21 by her boyfriend. The Mitchells, who founded the Kristin Mitchell Foundation, have worked since 2005 to educate teens about domestic violence and pushed for high schools to adopt lessons on dating violence into the curriculum. These lessons recognizing the warning signs for an abuser, and breaking up in a public place.

"When Kristin attended middle school and high school here in Maryland, none of this information was available," Bill Mitchell says. "Our family has learned many of the warning signs after the fact."

To see A Line in the Sand, visit Sinai's atrium through November 12. You can also click on the video below of Beth Huber to hear more about the exhibit.

Help Available for Domestic Violence Victims

The tragic case of Yeardley Love, a UVA student killed this week during an altercation with her ex-boyfriend, is an unfortunate reminder that domestic violence can impact anyone.

"Anyone can find themselves caught in an abusive relationship," says Northwest Hospital Domestic Violence (DOVE) program coordinator Audrey Bergin. "Here were two young people who are well-educated and, by all accounts, successful athletes who found themselves in this terrible situation. It's a reminder that domestic violence does not discriminate."

Since the DOVE program began five years ago, Bergin and her staff have helped more than 800 victims, many of whom came in through Northwest ER-7. The program staff educates Northwest’s entire in-house medical staff about how to recognize signs of abuse, how to screen for it, and what victims’ rights and reporting laws are. Additionally, staff provide 24/7 crisis counseling for the people it helps, gives education to domestic violence victims about their legal options and will accompany victims to court.

The Family Violence Program at Sinai Hospital is also dedicated to breaking the cycle of abuse, providing individual and group counseling for women, ongoing support services, services coordination, legal information and court advocacy.

If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) 24 hours a day. You can find a complete list of services available in Maryland by clicking here.

Sadly, only 4 percent of domestic violence homicide victims had reached out to a domestic violence hotline at the time of their death, Bergin says. That's why first responders, including Baltimore County Police, are increasingly using a "lethality assessment", a series of 11 questions developed by the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence that has been shown to improve victim safety. To learn more, you can watch this ABC News video or click here.

To learn more about violence prevention programs at LifeBridge Health, call 410-601-WELL (9355).

Violence Prevention Program Held Tomorrow

To recognize National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the Northwest Hospital Domestic Violence Program and the Baltimore Police Department will be sponsoring their Second Annual Community Against Violence event.

Northwest is proud to partner with law enforcement in addressing issues like domestic violence, identity theft, elder abuse, drug abuse, and youth gun violence. National Crime Victims' Rights Week serves to empower residents, and to let victims know of their rights. This week is also a chance to memorialize those people who became victims of crime.

The program begins tomorrow evening at 7 p.m., Liberty Resource Center, 3505 Resource Drive, Randallstown. The doors open at 6:30 p.m..

There will be three speakers:

• Johnny Rice, from the state Department of Human Resources, will speak on "Raising Boys to Men."

• Steve Roscher, a prosecutor for Baltimore County State's Attorney Office, will speak about the state's Family Crimes Unit.

• Scott D. Shellenberger, the Baltimore County State's Attorney, speak about witness intimidation and what the state is doing to combat it.

There will be representatives from a variety of local agencies, food and beverages, door prizes and some great raffles! All are welcome.

To see a list of other National Crime Victim's Rights Week events, click here.

Traveling Exhibit Explores Domestic Violence

House Of Ruth Maryland's traveling exhibit, 'A Line In The Sand', is on display in the Northwest Hospital lobby through November.

The exhibit explores domestic violence, which claimed the lives of at least 45 women and children in Maryland last year alone. The photographic exhibit debuted in 2008 and is now traveling through the state.

'A Line In The Sand' displays more than 20 interpretive portraits and short essays that chronicle Maryland's fight against domestic violence. People photographed are those who have taken positive, often brave actions to make life safer for the women and children of Maryland.

"Domestic violence runs rampant in our society and strikes fear in thousands of women and children," says Carole Alexander, executive director of House Of Ruth Maryland. "'A Line In The Sand' is our way of challenging the silence that surrounds domestic violence and profiling those people who have made a real difference in the lives of women and children across Maryland."

Photographers include Connie Imboden, Matthew Kern, Mary Carole Curran, Matthew Girard, and Leo Howard Lubow. Designed by Alex Castro of Castro/Arts, "A Line In The Sand' travels to corporate lobbies, government buildings, schools and museums across Maryland.

House Of Ruth Maryland is the non-profit organization that provides the most comprehensive services for victims of domestic violence in the state of Maryland. For additional resources for domestic violence victims in Baltimore County, click here.

Domestic violence help is a call away

Everyday this week there have been stories on the news about murder-suicides of entire families. These difficult economic times can cause additional stress in healthy and unhealthy homes. In an abusive relationship, the abuse can become more severe.

Please contact the Domestic Violence Program at Northwest Hospital if you need help at 410-521-7555.

Book sale at Northwest Hospital to benefit domestic violence victims

The Domestic Violence Program at Northwest Hospital in Baltimore and the Woodlawn Police Precinct will be having a used book sale and raffle to raise money for victims of domestic violence. Money raised helps victims pay for necessities like new locks, food, gas, bus and cab fare, and legal fees for custody, divorce and immigration applications.

The Used Book Sale and Raffle will be held on Wednesday, April 22, from 8 a.m. to noon, and Thursday, April 23, from 1 to 5 p.m., in the Pike Room at Northwest Hospital. Books will all be sold for as little as $1.

If you would like to donate items to be raffled, call 410-521-7555.

Chris Brown, Rihanna case puts spotlight on domestic violence

The Chris Brown-Rihanna domestic violence story is back on the front page today. Brown, a 19-year-old R&B singer, was formally charged with two counts of felony assault. He remains free on $50,000 bail.

The incident, though unfortunate, provides us a good opportunity to talk about domestic violence and resources available to victims in northwest Baltimore. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 out of every 3 women in the U.S. will experience domestic violence at some point in her life.

Maryland does not require mandatory reporting of domestic violence. But in 1996, Sinai Hospital was identified as one of three sites in Maryland to develop a model for domestic violence intervention in hospitals. The Family Violence Program (FVP) trains medical providers to identify and assess victims of domestic violence when they enter the health care setting. While other hospitals in the area may provide training and/or some crisis intervention, the Sinai Hospital Family Violence Program is the only program that provides ongoing counseling on site. Women who have witnessed the abuse receive services from FVP staff, which may include crisis intervention, individual or group counseling, and referral to community resources. In addition to the core direct services to victims, the FVP also provides consultation and education to local medical providers for developing domestic violence intervention services in their communities.

The Sinai FVP Women’s Support Group offers survivors of domestic violence a safe place to discuss their shared experiences and learn new skills to become free of violence. The group meets weekly, day or evening, and is free of charge. For more information, call 410-601-8692.

Sad to say, incidents like the Chris Brown - Rihanna story occur everyday in communities like ours, far more often than many of us know. Maybe you or someone close to you is a domestic violence victim. If so, where did you turn for services? How were you able to become free of violence?