Women's shelter sees influx

Silent night. Violent night.

Many Utah families are relishing the joy of being home with family during the holiday season, but the flip side of the coin is much sadder: The YWCA's women's shelter is filled to capacity, and its staff expects a big influx of women seeking help right after the new year.

The facility currently is providing emergency shelter for 80 people, not counting toddlers under age 2, according to Melinda Pettingill, prevention education director for the YWCA of Salt Lake City.

"We had six families check in over the weekend, which is a huge number to have check in two days before Christmas," she said.

"Right after New Year's, the numbers tend to jump, with more women calling in with crisis calls, more women stopping in for shelter, more coming for information or resources such as financial assistance or protective order information," Pettingill said. "I tell my employees, 'Nobody's taking off the first week of January because we get so many crisis calls."'

Pettingill said the shelter traditionally is full in January and February, largely due to the number of domestic crises that occur over the holidays.

Pettingill suggests that some women stick it out in an abusive home over Christmas, especially if they have children, because the women want the kids to have a good holiday.

Pettingill also has worked with perpetrators and said they might want to be on their best behavior and they might not want to be abusers — but without professional help, they cannot sustain any change.

"People do their best to cover it up and make things nice during the holidays, but literally the day after Christmas, I always work because I have several phone calls from women asking where they can come for a support group or where they can get information for safety plans."

The YWCA's shelter, which opened in 1976, is the oldest and largest in the area and probably gets more use than others. It frequently refers people to other shelters.

In 2006, the YWCA shelter turned away 888 people for lack of space but offered them motel vouchers where they could stay temporarily until there was room for them

The shelter tries to make an otherwise bleak time happier for its residents. Adults and children gets presents, and there are holiday decorations, food and music.

"We do everything in our power to provide these families with a sense of tradition and love," Pettingill said.

She does not believe that domestic violence has increased but that it is being reported more often now that people are aware that it is a crime.