Fairfax County’s Hispanic population is growing more willing to seek out public domestic abuse services, according to the county’s community service board.
Three programs offered under the agency — the Victim Assistance Network, the ADAPT program and the women’s shelter — have all seen more Hispanic clients in recent years, said Kathleen Kelmelis, an official with the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Service Board.
The shift is a possible indicator that domestic violence victims in a close-knit, often self-reliant community are warming to help from the outside.
“They’ve been in this country long enough that they’re realizing that they can reach outside of their very tight individual support systems and access services that are out there,” Kelmelis said.
She estimated that 15 percent of current callers to the agency’s hotline are Hispanic.
The community service board is seeking a $100,000 state grant that wouldallow the agency to hire a part-time bilingual counselor for the Victim Assistance Network. Of the four counselors on the staff, Kelmelis said, only one is bilingual.
A cultural stigma attached to public counseling services has prevented Hispanics from seeking help in the past, said Edgar Rivera of Tenants and Workers United, a minority and low-income advocacy group. He predicts an increasing number will ask for help in the next 10 years.
“It’s not that they don’t need it, I think it’s cultural. … I’m sure the community is getting to know that it’s important to look for those services,” he said.
