If you are a woman reading this, there’s a 25 percent likelihood you’ve experienced contact sexual violence and/or physical violence. Forty percent of African American women have experienced physical abuse by an intimate partner, and nearly twice that number of the LGBTQ+ community have also suffered domestic violence.

Fortunately, there is a path to encouraging outcomes. Serving 23 Upper Valley communities, WISE has made it their mission to serve as a support system and resource center for anyone affected by sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, and trafficking, having built a network of volunteers along with trauma, law enforcement, and medical and legal experts with the sole purpose of guiding survivors compassionately. What does this look like at ground level? WISE’s plan, while dealing with complex problems, is to create a more welcoming, supportive, and collaborative feel, according to WISE Advocacy Manager Bailey Ray.

“That might look like offering someone a place to sit with some tea and a moment to collect themselves. That might look like meeting someone in various settings. Maybe meeting at the hospital. It could be meeting someone at court who’s trying to obtain a protective order, or meeting someone at a community organization, or on campus and just trying to develop that relationship.”

Always available

Peggy O’Neil, WISE’s executive director for over 20 years.

Executive Director Peggy O’Neil credits community members and crisis line volunteers for their roles in the process. “These are folks who are choosing to go through our required 30-hour training and then they are the ones who are staffing our crisis line when our capable staff members go home, which means overnight starting at 4:30 in the afternoon plus weekends and holidays. These people are our neighbors, our friends, and family who are answering the crisis line and supporting someone else in the community who is calling,” she says.

A good example of an impactful volunteer is Ann Malenka, a Dartmouth grad, now retired but still contributing her time and empathetic ear by working the 24-hour crisis line. “After retiring, I was willing to consider an activity that would challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone,” Ann says. “I am so glad I took a leap of faith and volunteered for WISE. It is rewarding to feel that I am advancing WISE’s mission to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence.”

WISE’s commonsense approach to working with people in crisis is not lost on Ann. “I try to focus on how I can help someone in the moment—listening to them, validating what they are feeling, and letting them know that they are not alone. I always hope that I have connected with the survivor and have offered them the support and information that they needed,” Ann says.

A Collaborative Effort

The WISE Advocacy Team: Skylar, Rebekah, Bailey, Nicole, Laura, and Bonzo.

WISE has worked hard to integrate professional experts as partners, and much of that group’s training has been taken on by Bailey. “Bailey is quietly doing trainings for doctors and nurses, emergency department staff, and law enforcement because we want to share what we know about domestic violence and sexual violence,” Peggy says. “We also want to learn from them about how their systems work and how they provide support for victims of domestic and sexual violence.”

Bailey believes the cooperative effort yields results. “It’s really about making sure that everyone is con-nected and collaborative. We are lucky to be able to work with statewide organizations like 603 Legal Aid that have attorneys who are choosing to take on these cases at a far lower compensation than they would be in private practice.”

Raising Awareness

Shining a light on a societal problem that needs fixing is another part of WISE’s plan, Bailey says.
The more the community knows, the more they can be a part of the solution. “WISE has done a really good job over the past 20 or so years raising awareness about domestic and sexual violence and bringing the conversation out into the community. It’s not unusual to see us (WISE ads) on the backs of buses. We also know that our outreach materials, our flyers, are in local businesses, libraries, and community centers,” Bailey says.

Adding visibility to the WISE mission took an important leap with a symbolic but practical branding change. “Going back to when I started here over 20 years ago, we had a perfectly appropriate logo, a silhouette of a person in a window,” says Peggy. “My view of it was you couldn’t tell if that person was safe, lonely, in a good place, not in a good place, contemplative. And that person was anonymous. They really weren’t visible. The logo change was to express that this is an issue we all can understand. We don’t have to be secret and silent about it. We also created the tagline ‘End violence, share hope, and change lives,’” Peggy adds.

Another of WISE’s mantras, “You are not alone,” is another important statement. “For someone who has gone through or is going through an experience of domestic and sexual violence, it can be hard to come forward to share that with family, friends, and anonymous organizations,” says Peggy. “We’re always going to be here for you because we’re committed to 24-hour constant and safe accessibility.” People are in unsafe, violent, and scary situations. Peggy believes the response from staff, volunteers, the WISE board, donors, and the community has been remarkable.

WISE has two buildings that provide temporary shelter for survivors and works closely with many of the people who come to WISE for support on possible housing options. The WISE Program Center is at 38 Bank Street in Lebanon. WISE can be reached by phone every hour, every day at (866) 348-WISE. The website is filled with helpful information and resources. Visit wiseuv.org.