In 2008 on my 28th birthday my daughter's father took me hostage, shot me in the head, shot himself in the head, and then left me for dead. "That same year Crystal Judson who was married to the Chief of Police David Brame was also shot in the head by her husband, and then he turned the gun on himself and later died."(Lynn) After Crystal's tragic death her family opened up a Domestic violence Shelter called "The Crystal Judson" center which is also a resource center to help other women get help who are being abused. I went to the "YWCA" which is another domestic violence shelter where I sought safety and refuge from my abuser. The YWCA is a temporary "safe house" with individual rooms that can house up to thirty families at any given time, and it also has a separate building next to it where women are sometimes court ordered for counseling. Without these "safe houses" more women like Crystal will lose their lives. .
"In Pierce County there were 86 homicides due to domestic violence between 1997 and 2008." (washingtonwatch.com) Mothers, daughters, sisters, and children are being buried every second of the day due to the escalating violence against women. The Crystal Judson Center and the YWCA are two places where women are joining together to face this issue. Domestic violence is the common thread that bonds the victims at the Crystal Judson Center and the YWCA as they work together to support one another during the fight of their lives. Support groups are the main focus at both of these centers, although they are run very differently. At the Crystal Judson Center, groups are held every day at different times. These groups focus on empowering and giving women their voice back that is often lost in the relationship with their abuser. The groups are "open" which means that anyone with a domestic violence issue can attend.