Public Resource Analysis
The main character in the book, Saving Bernice: Battered Women, Welfare, and Poverty, Bernice had been a victim of domestic violence from a very young age. Bernice grew up in a troubled home where neither of her parents set an example for Bernice or her siblings, which every good parent would want to set for their kids. In this analysis, the public resources available in Walla Walla, WA, will be connected to Bernice’s situation. This analysis will relate several situations in which Bernice could have used the resources from this town, and how she could have been helped. Although these institutions aim to help battered women, and their children, they offer many ...view middle of the document...
Another source that is useful for women who are victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault is the STEP Women’s Shelter in Walla Walla. This service is very useful for victims because they offer a wide range of services. These services include: food, clothing, emergency shelter, homeless prevention and rent assistance, utility assistance, non-narcotic prescriptions, local bus passes, they also provide referrals for dental, counseling and other urgent needs. The strength of this institution is their variety of resource that victims may solicit in an urgent situation, and like most shelters, this shelter does not provide an address on their online website. There is not an identifiable weakness of this service because they offer assistance in all areas of victim needs. They do not list legal services as part of their offered services, but they do provide referrals of urgent need, which also includes legal referrals.
Women’s Shelters is a nationwide directory of shelters for women, they offer help with locating shelter and assistance with substance addiction. This directory directs victims to a shelter in Walla Walla, Young Women’s Christian Association. The YWCA offers victims free dental and medical clinics. They also offer treatment centers for substance addiction, low-income housing, and rent assistance programs. The YWCA shelter in Walla Walla offers a specific amount of services that are most helpful for victims. The YWCA in Walla Walla offers safe shelter, medical and legal advocacy, counseling and support groups, a crisis line, safety planning, Internet and computer safety, and information about domestic violence and sexual assault. The Walla Walla YWCA is by far the best service in the area; there is not an identifiable weakness of this service.
The last resource offered in Walla Walla is through the City of Walla Walla. This is an online service that provides victims with definitions that identify several domestic violence acts. It also provides victims with a number of options and their rights as victims. Interestingly enough, this service also offers advice for abusive partners. The City of Walla Walla online service provides phone numbers, physical and email addresses of the offices available for victims who would like to take legal action. The city offers links to the city’s superior court just incase the victim would like to pursue an order for protection. They also offer legal issues and contact numbers for legal assistance, the domestic violence and sexual assault center, the district court, prosecuting attorney, the city attorney, and the Walla Walla Police Department Domestic Violence Advocate. The strength of the services provided by the city is the accessibility of the contact numbers of all of the important legal offices in the city, but the weakness of this service is the lack of protection of the victim’s search for help.
In Jody Raphael’s book, Saving Bernice: Battered Women, Welfare, and Poverty, the...
