By Amy Brown
Most non-profits start at a grassroots level, and the Coalition for Family Harmony is no exception—its roots began in October of 1975 in one of its founder’s garages as a phone tree for victims of violence. It has since blossomed into a comprehensive range of direct services for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, from adults to at-risk youth, providing education to prevent the cycle of violence for all genders. According to Executive Director Caroline Prijatel-Sutton, who has been with the Coalition for the last 18 years, the organization has evolved based out of community necessity. “There was a need for a phone line for women to call who were in abusive situations, then there was a need for a shelter, so a shelter was found. And then there was a need for a rape crisis center, and so the rape crisis center was formed. We’ve evolved really based out of need.”
The need continues—Ventura County recently had one of the top five highest rates of domestic violence per capita in California. According to a recent Human Services Agency Annual Report, each year there are approximately 7,000 allegations of domestic violence in Ventura County. Today, the Coalition serves more than 5,000 clients per year, with two shelters and a third in development in conjunction with the Ventura County Family Justice Center. These shelters are safe houses that provide a place to live, therapy, food and supplies for victims, and can offer 30-day support or transitional housing that meets the victim’s needs for up to a year. The original shelter from the 1980s has 14 beds, and in 2023 an indigenous shelter was opened, staffed with trilingual advocates. These team members speak a range of languages to serve the cultural needs of survivors of abuse, many of whom are further burdened with limited rights and language barriers.
“We have people that come to our shelters in the darkest moments of their lives. They’re coming in without anything really, scared; they don’t have resources. A lot of times, survivors of domestic violence don’t have access to bank accounts, funds, transportation, jobs or even education. They’ve been controlled,” said Prijatel-Sutton. “So being able to help those young mothers really gave us a sense that we’re not just helping the mom, we’re helping the child as well stay away from unsafe situations, therefore stopping that cycle of violence.”
Laura Morales also started with the organization 18 years ago, and today is Housing Services Manager for both shelters and an Associate Therapist for its clients. She shared that among the biggest obstacles for victims from underserved communities—in addition to issues at times with cultural resistance to reporting abuse—is a fear of the legal system. “They don’t believe they will be protected, there’s a lack of information, and the language barrier alone is one of the biggest obstacles,” said Morales. “Immigrants from other countries, not just Mexico, can have concerns about being able to really communicate in a language they don’t understand.”
Morales shared that providing mental health support to survivors is vital, along with crisis counseling to help victims process the decision they’ve made. “It’s the most dangerous and scariest time to make the decision to leave—create and execute a plan to leave—but that’s not where it ends. Everyone has a hard time letting go, especially those that have suffered great emotional or physical abuse from their harm doers, but our staff can support their decision and help them with starting over again.”
50 years ago, the initial Coalition goal was simply bringing people to safety and keeping them out of dangerous situations at home and ultimately developing different ways to support them. Offering new services that meet all of those needs has been an integral part of the organization’s development. “Finding that 30-day shelter is wonderful and can meet so many needs. But then having a transitional housing program that is going to meet their needs for up to a year that we’re paying for is even better,” said Prijatel-Sutton. “Finding those expanded ways of helping—legal support, medical support, those end-to-end services—has been really exciting for me. I think that’s been really exciting for our staff and board to watch unfold.”
According to the CDC and other federal health institutes, intimate partner violence is considered a public health issue. However, Prijatel-Sutton believes more can be done to clarify that for the public. “I honestly don’t know that it fully has been realized as a public health issue yet. I think it is,” she said. “And I think in some sectors, it certainly has been, in some others, it’s still considered a social issue, a women’s issue, or a domestic issue. And I think that’s what we fight against.”
