Fort Worth nonprofit’s tool kit helps workplaces support victims of domestic violence

A Fort Worth-based domestic abuse resource center wants to bring much-needed training on partner violence to workplaces.

The initiative — called Safe at Work — launches this week, providing a guidance, training and education tool kit to participating Tarrant County businesses. One Safe Place will host a discussion March 11, where panelists are set to highlight how employers can take steps to create safe workplace environments for domestic violence victims.

Officials from the resource center said they want to help employers and colleagues to better recognize domestic violence.

“If you want us to come do training for your entire workforce on domestic violence 101, we can do that. We can create online training and as new people come in, it’s available to them,” said Ken Shetter, president of One Safe Place. “The idea is not to have a cookie cutter approach but to work with companies to tailor a solution that works for them.”

The idea for Safe at Work evolved from efforts on a similar unreleased tool kit that Shetter worked on in May with family justice centers nationwide. One Safe Place officials want feedback from businesses early on in the process to better adjust the program, Shetter said.

“Once we get our feet under us a little bit, I’m really interested in working with the chambers of commerce and thinking about, ‘How can they be a resource in helping their organizations make this connection,’” he said.

Leaders from One Safe Place are speaking with local business owners to gauge interest.

Katherine Curl, a panelist at the initiative’s launch, found out about the nonprofit from a friend. Curl owns four Crumbl Cookies franchises in North Texas and began volunteering at One Safe Place last year.

Curl, a survivor of domestic violence, said the workplace can be a prime place for building trust and support in an individual’s life.

“If we can create environments where people aren’t afraid to talk about it or ask for help, we can start bringing people out of that darkness and then everything can change,” Curl said.

Abuse can be isolating for those living through it, she and Shetter said, noting that the effects often appear in places of employment.

A 2005 study from the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence found that 64% of victims said their ability to work was affected by the abuse at home.

That same survey found that 33% of victims reported that their employers provided no support.

Even when an employer wants to help, guidance may be flawed because of lack of training, Shetter said. Advice such as recommending abruptly leaving the abuser, which is a common reaction, can lead to the victim’s safety being placed in jeopardy.

“What we try to do is create an appropriate, policy-based standard response that is right for every situation and where we are available as an immediate frontline response,” Shetter said.

The hope is that the Safe at Work tool kit will help bosses provide counsel that better helps victims.

“When you take care of your employees as people and not just workers, it’s going to create a healthier workplace for everyone involved,” Curl said. “It can help you know employees — and even other people outside of your organization — in ways that you might not even understand at the time.”

Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org. 

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.