Raising awareness

By DAVE GOSSETT, staff writer
STEUBENVILLE — Jodi Scheetz first met one domestic abuse victim when she arrived at the A.L.I.V.E. shelter in January 1999. Several months later Scheetz listened to the tape-recorded 911 call as the woman died after being stabbed 24 times by her estranged husband. Scheetz related the story of the Mingo Junction woman during the Jefferson County Community Action Council Head Start in-service meeting held Thursday for staff and parents, and she also discussed other domestic violence issues. Scheetz went on to say the Mingo woman died six months after she first sought refuge from her abusive husband. “Both adults worked at the same business in Pittsburgh but the man wouldn’t let his wife call in sick and he refused to allow her to go to work. She came to our shelter, stayed a day or two but returned home when her cousin called her and said the husband was threatening to kill himself,” recalled Scheetz. “She went home that day and found all of her clothes thrown outside of the house. She came back to the shelter in February and stayed for a couple of days and went home. By March she was seeking a protective custody order. Her husband was arrested for violation of that order,” said Scheetz. “The day the victim died she had called me and said her father-in-law said his son was threatening to kill her. I begged her to come back to the shelter but she said she and her two kids would be OK. Her husband broke into her house that night and she was able to call 911 before he started stabbing her with a kitchen knife. The phone was left off the hook and the entire chaos that night was recorded, and when I listened to it later it was absolutely chilling,” explained Scheetz. “Domestic violence runs in cycles. Maggie’s grandmother was murdered by her husband. Her mother was in a domestic violence situation. Maggie was in a abusive situation and unfortunately statistics say her daughter will probably end up in an abusive relationship,” said Scheetz. The A.L.I.V.E. shelter director urged the Head Start staff to be aware of common traits of children of an abused parent. “Children frequently feel like they have caused the violence between their parents. They may feel guilty if they can’t prevent the violence. Children in these relationships may also have a low self-esteem. They may have school problems or may run away as a form of escape from the home atmosphere,” said Scheetz. “And unfortunately children who grow up in an abusive family may retaliate toward their parents or may become adult abusers or victims.” “Kids are dramatically affected by what they see in their homes. And they can become victims as well,” said Scheetz. “At least 40 percent of the men who abuse women will abuse the children in the home.” She noted her organization opened the Visitation Center on North Fourth Street in 2001 to assist with supervised parental visits and for parents to drop off their children for a visit with the divorced parent. “Our statewide organization is working on a law to require judges to attend a domestic violence seminar every two or three years. Law enforcement officials are required to take the courses on a regular basis, and we believe the judges throughout the state should be required to take a course as well,” declared Scheetz. (Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)