The Soteria House is a local safe haven for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, where they not only receive solace and counseling to help them heal from traumatic and harmful experiences, but also are buoyed with supportive practical resources — from permanent housing to employment, transportation, education and more — to move them toward a new and healthy path for their lives.
The life-changing stories of two Logan County survivors of domestic abuse who were served by the shelter were shared Friday morning, Oct. 25, at the annual Domestic Violence Awareness Ceremony hosted by the TCN Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Crisis Center at Lutheran Community Services.
Program Manager Debbie Brownlee said the Soteria House first opened during 2016 at an undisclosed location in Logan County to protect the safety of its occupants. Prior to that time, victims of domestic violence and sexual assault who needed assistance from a shelter had to travel to another county to find this type of care and level of safety.
“It turned our lives around when the Soteria House opened,” she said. “It’s a warm, comforting and welcoming house, and there is no cost to the residents to stay there. We want the survivors to be able to have the time and space to get themselves healthy, both mentally and physically.”
Brownlee related that recently, the TCN Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Crisis Center’s number of clients served — both in their own homes and at the Soteria House (which can house between 17-22 people comfortably at a time) — has been on the rise.
In 2023, the crisis center served a total of 383 people (with 275-315 people previously being the annual average), and numbers from this year are heading that direction as well. Brownlee said approximately 70 percent of clients are served in their homes, and 30 percent are cared for at the shelter.
Fortunately, the crisis center program manager noted that the state of Ohio is taking notice of the escalating need that’s been observed since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the center is receiving more funding than in the past. Currently, the crisis center receives two grants through the Ohio legislature — $135,00 through a rape crisis grant and $120,000 through their domestic violence grant. This funding has helped to boost staffing numbers from seven employees to 10.
One of the new hires, Mallory Centers, who serves as a prevention specialist for TCN, had the opportunity to present one of the survivor’s stories at the ceremony, with the theme of “Heal, Hold and Center.” The identities of both of the survivors were kept confidential to protect their safety.
In the first testimonial, Centers read that while the survivor worked very hard to purchase a home, the young woman faced a devastating circumstance in the spring of 2022 when her home and her pets were destroyed by a fire. She also injured her foot in the blaze.
While she worked to get back on her feet, the young woman said she struggled with alcoholism and also ended up in two abusive relationships. Couch surfing became part of her lifestyle while she was trying to make ends meet.
She eventually decided to leave her abusive relationship after contacting TCN, and she remembered the difficult day when she escaped that reality and a staff member from the Soteria House came to pick her up.
“My abuser got out of jail early on bond, and showed up at the house. It was a dark and rainy day. I clearly had a drinking problem too, which added to my issues; and I felt so embarrassed and down on myself.
“But arriving at the Soteria House, it was warm and safe inside. It was clear right away that this was going to be a good place for me.”
Fast forward to several months spent at the shelter, and this survivor said she received legal help to bring her perpetrator to justice, along with support as she looked for a new job and also substance abuse healing at the Recovery Zone.
She said she applied for a job at a local clothing store, and soon became a store manager there. More recently, she is working on her master’s of professional accounting degree and is on the dean’s list, and celebrated three years of sobriety.
“Soteria House has helped me every step of the way to the woman I am today,” the survivor said, noting she also received assistance to obtain her driver’s license and resources to fill in the gaps when she got a raise at work and no longer was eligible for SNAP food assistance benefits.
Jessica Ford, emergency shelter coordinator, read the second survivor testimonial, who noted that she came to the Soteria House in 2020 to escape mental and physical abuse. The local woman was feeling rather discouraged, as she said she’d previously been in an abusive marriage that ended in 2004, and had left with her three children and moved to Ohio at that time.
The survivor recounted how staff at the Soteria House had her back and assisted her with purchasing a car and obtaining housing for her family.
“When I moved into my ‘little safe haven,’ my new apartment, I remember it so well. My first Christmas there, they helped me put up the Christmas tree. When we turned on all the Christmas tree lights, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
The domestic abuse survivor said now she works at the shelter where she first sought refuge, helping others on their journeys to a better life. She wants them to remember that “they are strong enough and brave enough.”
Also during the ceremony, Bellefontaine Mayor Dave Crissman and Logan County Commissioner Michael Yoder offered a proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and noted that an average of 20 people per minute are affected by domestic violence in the U.S., which equates to about 10 million people annually.
The Ohio Domestic Violence Network also noted in their 2024 Fatality Report that there were 114 fatalities in the state in 85 cases between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, involving 70 deceased victims and 35 deceased perpetrators.The youngest victim was age 4 months and the oldest victim was 85 years old.
To conclude the event, Brownlee presented two awards, the first of which was the Volunteer of the Year award. Wally’s Wrenchman was this year’s winner, with the program manager noting the service center’s outstanding assistance with helping repair clients’ vehicles and donating their time.
The Logan Piecemakers quilting guild and the Peak Propane and P. Allan Properties received runner-up awards for the Volunteers of the Year for their contributions. The quilting guild created handcrafted quilted bags for the Soteria House, and employees of Peak Propane and P. Allan Properties offered their hands-on dedicated efforts at the United Way’s Community Care Day.
This year, the Liz Parker Community Hero Award was presented to Jennifer Stanley, a Bellefontaine City Prosecutor’s Office victim/witness advocate. Parker, a victim witness for 17 years, passed away suddenly in December 2017. Her daughter, Jenna Schrader, along with other family members and friends, chose this year’s recipient from several organizations honored at Friday’s ceremony.
Runners-up for the Liz Parker Community Hero Award were Sgt. Ryan Brown from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and Kathy Zeller, Recovery Zone director.
To contact the TCN center, call (937) 593-5777. You can reach the Soteria House at (937) 404-2365. The 24-hour crisis line is (877) 394-1046 or there’s a national toll-free hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233).
