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Show WASATCH MOUNTAIN TIMES oy Battered Women’s Advocate, Debra Daniels Moves On to New Challenges D:-" Daniels cares. She cares about battered women. And she cares about their children. Debra Daniels even cares about the men who beat their wives and psychologically scar their children for a lifetime. Debra Daniels has devoted the past nine years to the Women’s Shelter at the Salt Lake City YWCA. She directed the Women in Jeopardy Program there. For women who have suffered domestic violence, perhaps the harshest form of abuse, Daniels has been a beacon, guiding the way to sanctuary and the possibility that a better life exists somewhere, some- The new assignment presents a lot of challenges, Daniels admits, because she is starting it from scratch. But she wanted to move on before she burned out on the Women’s Shelter. “I was tiring, but I didn’t want to leave worn out. I didn’t want to become jaded and cynical.” Rv: than feeling like a veteran of war, Daniels said she leaves the Women in Jeopardy program how. Bu women suffer not only physical abuse, Daniels explains, but the torment and confusion of being injured and emotionally traumitized by a loved one. “People ask the wrong questions: ‘Why do women stay?’” Daniels explains. “We need to ask questions like: ‘Why do men batter?’ feeling hopeful for the victims of domestic abuse. “I come away feeling extremely good about my work... I have seen lots of change in my nine years... I feel hopeful and see that valuable gains have been made.” During her tenure at the shelter, domestic violence has finally become something people are willing to talk ‘If you look at domestic violence, there are patterns of behavior about that are so scary,” she Mountain predictable that it is said in a Wasatch openly. The State Legislature Daniels position at the YWCA has been much more than a job. It “The bulk of the men has involved in domestic violence been DebraDaniels has passed spouse abuse laws and increasingly, local police departments PARK CITY IS NO. 1 WITH MARK MILLER SUBARU Times interview. seven-days-a-week, 24- hours-a-day: from answering bomb threats in the middle of the night, to attending a suicide attempt to, keeping angry spouses at bay. “The bulk of the men who are involved in domestic violence are contrite, polite and apologetic... (Yet) you can see them change instantly, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” she noted. “You see it from the very wealthy and affluent to the very poor. It encompasses all levels of society: education, race, occupation, everything.” Now,, on the cusp of 40, Debra ) understand that violence does not need to be part of life . . . This society really hasn’t given young men and young women the tools to work past violent behavior,” she noted. Daniels is on to something new. She has left the Women in Jeopardy Program and since July 1 has been developing a new program for the YWCA, to be called The Center for Non-Violence and Human Rights. As Daniels explains it, her new program will focus on prevention of domestic violence. It will consist of community outreach and education for young adults, rather than those already in long-term abusive relationships. : “We are taking a strong look at how to help young women and men who are SUBARU. are contrite, polite and apologetic ... (Yet) you can see MARK them change instantly, like 2 dictate. SUBARU, INC. Debra Daniels New ’96’s Arriving Now! are treating domestic abuse with the seriousness it deserves. In 1986, when Daniels joined the Women in Jeopardy Program, it had a staff of seven and saw 900 people (women and children) each year. Now the staff is made up of 15 members and helped 1,500 people last year. Ithough no longer with the Women in Jeopardy program, its clients still seek Daniels out, to say hello, to say they have missed her. She has been, for almost a decade, the center around which the Women’s Shelter turned. The last nine years have been hard work but worth while , she said. “You go into this work to give. In that process, when you see someone’s life improve, reward.” @ that’s a 649-2609 ¢ 268-3734 3734 South State « Salt Lake City, Utah Sales and Service Legacy® Wagon SUBARU.» The Beauty of All Wheel Drive™ great PAGE "7 MILLER Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” 5 | |