ACMI House providing free services to women who fall victim to domestic violence -

Oklahoma ranks fourth in the nation in murders of women in single-victim, single-offender crimes—most committed by a current or former intimate partner; however, in Southwest Oklahoma, ACMI House’s early intervention program is dedicated to ending domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking by providing out-client services and a safe shelter for abused women and their children.

ACMI House is a Southwest Oklahoma Community Action Group agency. According to Neil Montgomery, SOCAG’s executive director, “Southwest Community Action is very proud of the work that ACMI House does for people in need.”

Holly Grace-Campbell, director of ACMI House, wants abuse victims to know that they may call for help on the 24-hour crisis hotline at 1-800-466-3805, the only 24-hour crisis line in Southwest Oklahoma; or anyone may call the local number, 482-3800, or 211 for referral to the nearest resources.

The agency’s certified free services extend to victims in Jackson, Harmon, Tillman, Kiowa and Greer counties and include support groups for women residing in the emergency shelter and education for women in Frederick, Hobart, Hollis, Mangum and Altus who prefer not to leave their homes. ACMI House currently serves 38 clients outside the shelter.

ACMI House’s nine employees (professionally certified advocates and trained house managers) and more than 50 volunteers provided services to 250 to 300 women and their children in 2008.

“We want to intervene early to help victims when it is on the verbal- and emotional-abuse level; because once it becomes physical, it is a downward spiral. Statistics show that eventually one partner or both will die if they continue in a violent relationship; there have been nine domestic violence-related deaths in Oklahoma so far this year alone,” Grace-Campbell said.

“Not every abused woman needs or wants to come to the shelter because they live and work in outlying counties where the children attend school; but our advocates are available to meet with them at a safe location if they just want someone to talk with or need assistance with the decision process in finding safe alternatives. Whether a woman returns to her abuser or not is completely her decision. Statistics show that, similar to smoking, a woman will leave seven to eight times before she succeeds in being independent from her abuser.”

Domestic violence and sexual abuse cross all economic and ethnic boundaries, leaving lasting impacts on victims in every neighborhood. Most women and a few men victims are too afraid or embarrassed to reach out for help; they are fearful that family members or neighbors will find out. They feel alone.

In 1980, Associated Christian Ministries Inc., a group of concerned Altus citizens, addressed Southwest Oklahoma’s domestic violence problem by starting the ACMI House 24-hour crisis line, now available for anyone needing help. Initially, ACMI House volunteers housed abused women and children in their own homes. After incorporating in 1982 and receiving funding through the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health, ACMI in 1983 purchased an emergency shelter. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health added help for sexual assault victims in the early 1990s and later for stalking victims.

“When we first started, we were all volunteers. We had no public funding, but we had wonderful donors in the community that supported us; we later received funding through state and federal grants,” Grace-Campbell said. “We couldn’t operate without our volunteers.”

For 28 years, a small board of directors governed ACMI House; however, in 2008, the service was placed under SOCAG’s umbrella. The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office has certified the program and contracts for services. ACMI House is also funded by the Victims of Crime Act Sub-grant. “We’ve kept the ACMI House name all those years, because of the significance of the work ACMI has done, although we have no affiliation with them any more,” Grace-Campbell said.

Victims and their children may remain at the Altus shelter up to 30 days with extensions as needed. ACMI House provides food, clothing, shelter, medications and transportation to school, work, job searches and doctor appointments, along with group and individual counseling, social services and advocacy in the courtroom and hospital.

Domestic abuse, a pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often includes the threat or use of violence. “Many women don’t have the option to leave their home situation and need a break from their abusers until the situation calms; they have nowhere else to go, no family and no friends because the abuser has isolated them,” Grace-Campbell said. “Many have no education, because he didn’t want them to have an education, and have never held a job.”

ACMI House strives to help women become independent. The staff helps the young women enroll in the POWER program to become educated and learn a trade; they also help find jobs, daycare, housing and available resources. Some women become certified nurse assistants or licensed practical nurses.

Set up as a home, the shelter contains a playroom for the children and a large outdoor playground. The staff holds birthday parties for the children and a December Christmas party. “The children usually have really good experiences,” Grace-Campbell said. “Sometimes I might not have seen a child for a year, and he’ll come running up to me in Wal-Mart and tells me how he is doing in school.”

Indirect-service volunteers maintain the shelter and the grounds and currently 15 direct-service volunteers work with clients. A response team of staff and volunteers meets sexual assault victims from all five counties at Jackson County Memorial Hospital. In April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Awareness Month, volunteers help with good-touch, bad-touch puppet shows in 25 elementary schools and Head Start programs in all five counties. Other awareness activities are planned throughout the year; and in 2008, more than 400 people attended a free carnival with children’s booths, staffed by other SOCAG agencies and volunteers.

Grace-Campbell holds a master’s degree in behavioral science. Before becoming ACMI House program director in 2007, she worked with abused people in Southwestern Youth Services’ children’s shelter and the Transitional Living Program and did contract work in the counseling and the parenting program for Great Plains Youth and Family Services. “Sometimes the work can be difficult, but it’s very rewarding when you see the women succeeding and see them moving out and doing things on their own, taking care of their children on their own. Independence is a big accomplishment.”