There are more people impacted than you think when it comes to domestic violence in your community. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, over 1 in 3 women (35.6 percent) and 1 in 4 men (28.5 percent) in the US have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Factor in emotional and psychological abuse, and it becomes nearly half of all women (48.4 percent) and men (48.8 percent) in the United States who experience psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

While much of the focus is on the victim of the domestic violence, HELP of Door County offers programming for the abuser and the potential children involved in the relationship. The organization provides courses for the men and women who have perpetuated the abuse, and they have worked with authors to create books for children who might need help with their emotions. Executive Director Moriah Benzow says to stop the cycle of domestic violence, you have to approach it from an all-encompassing view.

HELP of Door County assists about 300 individuals annually, providing between 1,100 and 1,600 to those people along the way.