This week’s post was written by Alexander Dziagwa, MSW, LSW, a therapist at AllHealth Network.
In 1981 the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence held the first “Day of unity.” This day of unity slowly evolved and turned into the first observed Domestic Violence Awareness month in 1987, and then 1989 congress passed an official law that designated October as Domestic Violence awareness month and October continues to be Domestic Violence awareness month to this day (thehotline.org). The goal of Domestic Violence Awareness month is to raise awareness about Domestic Violence by bringing the community and organizations together in order to help put a stop to the violence experienced by so many people.
A few definitions and statistics, in the interest of helping to raise awareness. The most used definition of Domestic Violence is “a pattern of abusive behaviors used with the intention to maintain power and control over a past or present intimate partner” (safehouse-denver.org). This can include physical, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse. The Colorado attorney general release the following statistics for 2021: “In 2021, 91 people died in a domestic violence-related incident in Colorado- the highest number since 2016. Of those, 45 were primary victims, 32 were perpetrators, and 14 were collateral victims. The youngest fatality was one month old and the oldest was 91 years old.” The number of people impacted by domestic violence is most likely much higher as local Colorado crisis centers report 10,721 calls from survivors and those helping them (safehouse-denver 2022/2023 annual report) and 1,140 clients served and 4000+ phone calls (Rose Andom Center 2020 annual report).
So how can we all help? Raising awareness is a huge part of the helping process. Letting individuals know that they are not alone in their experiences of violence and letting individuals know that there are resources available to help them. Here is a list of local resources in the Denver metro area. Be sure to check out the websites listed below to learn more and maybe find some upcoming Domestic Violence Awareness events!
DOVE (Deaf Overcoming Violence through Empowerment)
Crisis: 303.831.7874
Admin: 303-831-7932
Family Tree
Wheat Ridge, CO (Serving Adams and Jefferson Counties)
Crisis: 303.420.6752 *(TTY available)
Admin: 303.420.0412
Gateway Domestic Violence Services
Aurora, CO (Serving Arapahoe County)
Crisis: 303.343.1851 (TTY available)
Admin: 303.343.1856
Latina SafeHouse
Phone 303.433.4470*
Violence Free Colorado Member Program
PeaceWorks, Inc.
Bailey, CO (Serving Park and Mtn Jefferson Counties)
Crisis and Admin: (voice and text-enabled hotline): 303.838.8181
Project PAVE
303.322.2382 * (not a crisis line)
Project Safeguard
Business office: 303.219.7049
Adams 303.637.7761 * (not a crisis line)
Arapahoe 303.799.3977 * (not a crisis line)
Broomfield 720-887-2179 (not a crisis line)
Denver 720.865.9159 * (not a crisis line)
Rose Andom Center
Denver, CO (Serving Denver County)
Crisis and Admin: 720-337-4400
Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence
Boulder, CO (Serving Boulder County)
Crisis: 303.444.2424
Boulder admin office: 303.449.8623
Tri-city admin office: 303.673.9000
SafeHouse Denver, Inc.
Denver, CO (Serving Denver County)
Crisis: 303.318.9989 *
Admin: 303.318.9959
Servicios De La Raza
Denver, CO
Crisis: 303.953.5930*
Admin: 303.458.5851
The Crisis Center
Castle Rock, CO (Serving Douglas, Elbert, Arapahoe, and Lincoln Counties)
Crisis: 303.688.8484 (TTY available)
Admin: 303.688.1094
The Initiative
Denver, CO
Admin: 303-839-5510
Text: 720-503-9580
