Staff Report
Betsy Linane, a 20-year resident of the Santa Ynez Valley, has joined Advocates for Domestic and Child Abuse Prevention (ADCAP) as an Emergency Response Team advocate.
As an ERT Advocate with the program of Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People (PHP), she will respond to 911 domestic violence-related calls to provide support to victims in partnership with the Sheriff’s Department.
Advocates offer crisis intervention and emotional support by listening, validating feelings and dispelling the myths surrounding domestic violence. Immediate needs for assistance are identified and may include shelter, development of an emergency safety plan, and urgent medical care.
To become a certified domestic violence advocate, Linane completed a 40-hour online training program covering subjects such as the cycle of violence, the criminal justice system, common challenges to leaving an abusive relationship, impacts on children who see or hear abuse, community resources available to victims, and safety planning. In addition, she participated in a ride-along with sheriff’s deputies.
“There is no place for domestic violence in our community,” Linane said. “ I feel privileged to join PHP to help those whose lives are impacted by the unhealthy relationship. Children, friends, families and neighbors all experience the trauma.”
For more than 18 years, PHP has collaborated with the Sheriff’s Department to be on-call 24 hours, seven days a week. Volunteers rotate to respond during evenings and on weekends when PHP staff is not available.
Arcelia Sención, PHP’s Director of Health Care and Social Services with responsibility for managing ADCAP, said that additional volunteers are always needed. To apply for training, volunteers must be 18 or older, have access to transportation, and be willing to be on-call evenings and weekends.
No prior knowledge of domestic violence is required other than the desire to empower victims to take control of their lives to live in a violence-free relationship.
Anyone interesting in volunteering or learning more about ADCAP can contact Sención at 805-686-0295 or arcelia@syvphp.org.
