In the aftermath of the homicide of one of their own advocates, leaders of a regional domestic violence agency have secured a grant to help others cope with the loss of a loved one through domestic violence.
Rainbow House, an agency serving Marinette and Oconto counties and Menominee County in Michigan, is using a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay Foundation to develop a domestic violence homicide help program.
Courtney Olson, executive director of Rainbow House, said the pilot program will be a unified effort to reach out and offer services to families of homicide victims.
“There is currently no cohesive response network available. We plan to address this problem,” Olson said.
Rainbow House is working with other shelters and a state coalition to develop resources for families dealing with domestic violence homicides. A website is being developed to allow families to connect and find helpful materials.
According to Olson, the domestic violence death of Rainbow House advocate Patricia Waschbisch revealed a need for the program. Waschbisch, while serving as interim director of Rainbow House, was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend, Brent Kaempf, in the home they shared in Peshtigo in April 2013. Kaempf has been since been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
An average of 50 people are killed in domestic-related violence in the state each year, Olson said.
“That leaves a lot of families in need of support,” she said.
According to the 2014 Wisconsin Domestic Violence Homicide Report, 43 people in Wisconsin lost their lives to domestic violence last year. Of these, 36 were victims of domestic violence homicides, six committed a homicide then committed suicide, and one individual who committed domestic violence was killed by law enforcement officers.
The Mary Kay Foundation awarded $20,000 in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for a total of $3 million. Since 2000, The Mary Kay Foundation has donated $35.6 million to domestic violence organizations through its annual shelter grant program. Approximately 625 domestic violence shelters applied for funding this year.
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