Shelter continues to meet the need

The Charlotte House in Cathlamet, Wahkiakum County’s only domestic violence (DV) shelter, is over a decade old and continues to address local needs.

The DV advocacy program began in 1996 in association with the St. James Family Center. In 2000 the center took over the Charlotte House from the county.

The Charlotte House provides shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. If a man is in need of help, he is provided with a hotel voucher so he is safe as well.

“We provide services to women whether they need shelter or not,” said director Susan Schillios.

The house provides legal advocacy for people who live in the county and need help but not shelter. The legal advocate helps with the legal paperwork or anything else the victim may need. Medical advocacy will provide assistance in getting to doctor appointments or emergency rooms, systems advocacy, which provides assistance in getting connected to Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) for food stamps, and whatever else is needed. “Eventually they have to go to Cowlitz for an appointment, but it gets the ball rolling,” Schillios said.

A person can stay in the shelter for 30 days, but that can be extended to 60. Women often go to the shelter with nothing and they need that extra time to find affordable housing and other amenities.

The shelter does not provide safety housing for male children over the age of 14, for safety reasons. If a mother is in need of shelter with a son older than the cut off age, she is not turned away, but offered alternatives for the safety of herself and her child.

“Larger shelters are able to provide shelter for older boys, but there are a lot of shelters that don’t allow after 12," Schillios said.

The average age of women coming into the DV programs is 30 and up, Schillios said. They come from all backgrounds, but typically the women coming in have nothing. Usually women entering the shelter are coming in as a last resort. They need to start over.

A suspicion of DV is usually warranted. Depending on the situation, Schillios urges people to keep themselves safe by not getting involved, but to call 911. If DV is suspected with a neighbor, she said to make contact with the victim while they are alone and perhaps work out a subtle sign to let others know that help is needed.

The shelter is equipped with seven beds in three separate bedrooms. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, a TV with cable hook-up, and VCR. There is also a crib for use if necessary. There is a shared area that includes a TV, VCR and DVD player, a kitchen and a laundry room.

The shelter does not have a facility for animals at this time; however, service animals are allowed providing the animal stays in their room. Schillios said she would like to see a foster family in the area that would take in animals for women in shelter. She said that larger counties will often have a contract with the local humane society where the pet can be boarded in a separate facility from the adoption areas.

“It is one of the many challenges women face in trying to decide whether to come to shelter or not,” Schillios said.

The Charlotte house has several funding sources, including DSHS, Office of Crime Victim Advocacy (OCVA), and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

The shelter is a very small facility. The popular thought, Schillios said, is that Charlotte House occupies the entire River Street Building. She wants the public to know that they actually only occupy one third of the building, they share with Health and Human Services (HHS), and their clients.

People will often want to donate clothes, but there is no storage.

“One thing we like to have on hand is full bottles of shampoo and conditioner, lotion, gas cards and telephone cards," Schillios said. "Those are things that are easily stored.”

They will also accept old cell phones.

According to Schillios, when the Charlotte House was first built, a county wide contest was held to find a name. Local resident Myna Martin thought of Charlotte Birnie, wife of Cathlamet founder James Birnie. “Charlotte’s house was not only a shelter for her large family, but for the lost and hungry; so the name the Charlotte House seemed fitting for our shelter,” she said.

The Charlotte House has one fundraiser. The Chocolate Extravaganza, held in the Hotel Cathlamet on Friday from 5-8 p.m.