SCIP brings domestic violence awareness to Grant

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and to help raise awareness, Leaghia Christensen with Sandhills Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) attended the Perkins County Commissioners meeting Monday, Oct. 4.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a month set asied to raise awareness about domestic violence. Christensen said it is an easy way for people to show they are for promoting healthy relationships.

Monday, Christensen hung up photos and corresponding stories at the courthouse about those who had died due to domestic violence, many of them Nebraska natives save for Gabby Petito, whose story has gripped the country through the past few weeks.

Petito, 22, was an Instagram influencer who went on a vacation by van with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie prior to her disappearance. Laundrie returned home without her in early September, and a search for Petito ensued.

Her remains were found Sept. 19 in Wyoming, and her death was ruled a homicide. Laundrie has since gone missing with the FBI, police, Dog the Bounty Hunter and after the media coverage of the tragedy, an entire country on the lookout for him.

It was important for SCIP to include Petito’s story, Christensen said, because there were noticeable red flags in police body camera footage taken before Petito went missing. She said it can be a good example of what a scenario involving domestic violence can look like.

The footage showed an upset and crying Petito who had difficulty explaining the occurrence to the police through the tears, while Laundrie appears calm and collected.

“There is a lot to learn from that,” Christensen said. “Because most of the time, victims of domestic violence are going to seem very distraught, their emotions are going to be running high, and sometimes it does look like they are having a mental health crisis when in actuality that might not be the case.”

Petito’s is just one of the stories Christensen posted at the courthouse. The other stories can be viewed by the elevator in the courthouse.

Christensen said from her standpoint, awareness about domestic violence is important because one thing she hears people say often is, “But they didn’t hit me.”

“It doesn’t have to be physically violent,” Christensen noted.”Raising awareness about what domestic violence looks like is important.”

She shared that when she works with people, particularly youth, she will find that victims of domestic violence knew something was wrong all along, but they couldn’t quite vocalize that it was abuse they were experiencing.

SCIP serves six counties, Perkins, Keith, Garden, Arthur, Deuel and Grant counties, and provides a variety of services for those looking for help to flee a situation involving domestic violence.

Christensen emphasizes they are not counselors, nor are they any sort of legal help, but they can provide assistance in getting those services and much more.

SCIP can help pay for counseling, they provide emergency shelter, they host a 24 hour on-call help line that is always manned by a human, they can provide food and have resources for clothing they can connect people with, and they can help provide basic household necessities for those looking to move to a new home.

They can also help refer victims to Legal Aid, for things such as obtaining a divorce or filing for custody of a child. SCIP can also assist with obtaining protection orders and if there is a criminal case ongoing, SCIP will keep the victim in the loop without the victim having to go to court.

Besides posting the pictures  and stories at the courthouse, SCIP has several other ways they plan to spread awareness of domestic violence in the communities they serve.

Christensen said they are also putting up what are called “silent witnesses,” which are life-sized cutouts of people who have been killed due to domestic violence. They are painted red and the victims’ stories are available to read on them.

Christensen said people can expect to start seeing those around, not only in Grant but also in the other communities they serve.

They will also be doing the Clothesline Project, where they will have a clothesline with t-shirts hanging on them in support of victims of domestic violence.

Yet another way SCIP plans to raise awareness is by placing purple pinwheels, the color for domestic violence awareness, in the yard of the courthouse.

Each pinwheel, Christensen said, will have the name of a victim’s name who died from domestic violence in the state of Nebraska.

A way Christensen said anyone can participate in spreading awareness is by wearing something purple on Thursday, Oct. 21.

“It could be a purple necklace, a purple shirt, purple socks, whatever you want,” Christensen said. “It’s just a simple, meaningful way to raise awareness about domestic violence.”

She said at the SCIP office, they will be participating and posting a selfie on their Facebook page, “Sandhills Crisis Intervention Program,” and they encourage others to post on the SCIP page to share the support.

“A lot of victims will actually follow that and do wear purple,” Christensen noted. “It’s a good way to show them, even if you don’t know them, that you’re supporting them.”

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