By LINDA COMINS
Arts & Living Editor
The YWCA Wheeling's support group exclusively for female victims of domestic violence has a new meeting time and now has a licensed therapist as a facilitator.
Debbie Wood, director of the YWCA's Family Violence Prevention Program, said a behaviorial management group meets at the YWCA, 1100 Chapline St., from 5:30-6:30 p.m. every Tuesday. A domestic violence awareness group meets from 6:30 -8 p.m. on Tuesday.
The meetings are free and open to the public. Free child care also is available.
The sessions have been "life changing for so many people," Wood said, adding that one woman has participated in the group for five years since leaving her abuser.
A victim of domestic violence leaves home six to nine times, on average, before making the final break, Wood related. "It can happen. If people want to make the change. If you apply what you learn, you're going to leave," she commented.
Enhancing the support group, Wood said, "We now have a licensed therapist who specializes in domestic violence as the facilitator."
Working to facilitate the group sessions is licensed therapist Katherine Shelek-Furbee, a professor of social work and chair of the Department of Social Work at Bethany College.
The Family Violence Prevention Program is a licensed agency serving residents in Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties, Wood said.
The YWCA program's biggest annual fundraiser, Hats Off to Women, takes place at the Pine Room, Oglebay Park, from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. The event is "quite a production this year," with a live auction and lots of vendors, Wood said. As part of the festivities, teens who have made a difference in the community are being honored.
For more information on the support group or other services offered by the YWCA Wheeling, call the Family Violence Prevention Program at 304-232-2748 or toll-free at 800-698-1247.