The Russell House, a shelter and services center for victims of domestic and sexual assault, has been a beacon in Phelps, Maries, Crawford and Dent County for 24 years. Not only does this shelter provide sanctuary for victims of abuse throughout the area, but it is also the face of a much larger umbrella of services offered to those in need of them.
Speaking with Randi Turntine, development and volunteer coordinator for the Russell House, you can quickly learn the large number of amenities and services that the house facilitates.
“Most people know us by the Russell House, basically everyone does, but that’s only one part,” said Turntine. “We also offer counseling free of charge, no matter what your income is, no matter if you’re staying with us or not. We (also have) support groups throughout the week. Our counties where we have satellite offices, they offer support groups as well. We have court advocates and a (lawyer) who meets with those women and the women here about legal proceedings that have to do with the abuse. We have children’s programs. The children that come here not only have a playroom, but we have support groups and a counselor for them as well.”
Cheryl Parker, the Outreach Court Advocate for the Dent County Woman’s Crisis Center, is the face of one of the three outreach offices in counties that surround Phelps. This allows the Russell House and all services that they provide to reach a wider span of victims, hopefully providing aid to many more in need.
“We all tie in with Russell House, so any of the services we offer there are available here,” Parker said. “They are all free, the shelter, the counseling, all of that is intertwined together. I do support groups in my office, or once a week I go to the treatment center (in Salem) and do support groups there.”
Parker said that she sees a need in Dent County for the resources that the Phelps County Family Crisis Services provides to the area. Often victims will go back to their abusers, having either financial ties or a family that they believe prevents them from leaving.
“Our goal is to just let them know that no matter how many times they go back, that we will always be here to help them,” said Parker.
Beginning in 1994, the home was brought to life through the collaborative efforts of the PCFCS, formed the year prior, local donations, church groups and Dr. Barbara Russell.
“The name Russell House came from Dr. Barbara Russell, she was a local pediatrician,” Turntine said. “Some of the local church groups were saying that there was this need (for a shelter), and Dr. Russell was a huge push behind that. She was seeing kids come in, and their moms were being abused, and that’s why it is named after her because she was so influential in getting this started.”
Today, the Russell House can house over 60 women, much higher than the original seven beds it possessed. The ability to house such a large number of women and children only grew with time as more local women sought the shelter in times of need. Statistically, domestic abuse has seen a 63 percent decrease from 1994 to 2012, according to the Department of Justice, but the number of women who still suffer abuse on a state level are some of the highest in the country, states the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
In Missouri, 34,841 adults, youth and children received domestic violence services in 2014. That is over two times the entire population of Dent County, which was recorded at 15,593 in 2015. These numbers do not count the individuals who were unwilling or unable to report their abuse or seek help.
“Nationwide, depending on what you read, the (statistics) are that one-in-four women are victims of some sort of domestic violence,” Turntine said. “That can include emotional abuse, financial abuse… and they say that with men that one-in-seven have some sort of abuse. It’s not just the black eye, and that’s what people think of. Someone will say ‘Oh, I bet you’ve seen people who come in here that just look terrible!’, Well, yeah, sometimes. Sometimes they may not have a physical mark on them, but the abuse is still (there). There’s new dynamics always going on with domestic violence.”
Services of the PCFCS and Russell House are not only for those individuals who call the shelter their temporary home, Turntine stressed. Any counseling services provided, as well as legal advocacy and support groups, can be utilized by anyone in need, including men.
“Whenever I talk I always use female pronouns to say, ‘We serve women,’ but we serve men, too, we just don’t house them here.” Turntine said. “If there is a man who is a victim of abuse, we can help him as well. That’s something a lot of people don’t know about us.”
Working closely with local law enforcement and other preventative services allows the Dent County chapter of PCFCS to reach a wider span of victims in need, which is something that is not often known by those the very people who could utilize the services.
“Our goal is to try and help as many victims as we can.” said Parker. “We try to work with law enforcement, with the prosecuting attorney, the clerks, the hospital… we just really try to get in good with the community to make them aware of what we do and how we want to help.”
Anyone who needs the services of the Russell House regarding abuse are urged to call their 24-hour crisis line at (800) 998-8340, or their sexual assault crisis line at (888) 570-3703. The Dent County Woman’s Crisis Center can be contacted at (573) 729-4774. For more business information about Russell House or PCFCS, call (573) 364-1824.
