Hello world, welcome to WFHR's Rapid Support, probably brought to you by Crockett
Seppick for this Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025, have your host James here.
We're joined right now by our great friends from the Family Center of Wisconsin Rapids.
We have Jessica Jinsky joining us, Program Service Manager over there.
Jessica, good to see you.
Good to talk to you again.
Good morning.
It's good to be back.
Always appreciate the time for you and the team over at the Family Center doing some
of the most vital work in our community.
We appreciate you all.
And I wanted to get you guys in the studio today to talk about some important things.
One of them we wanted to go over was what October is and getting into the awareness of that
and just a quick tease to everybody.
Get your purple ready.
Be sure to get that ready.
But before we go into that, if you don't mind Jessica, we recently got some DV counts.
That is domestic violence stats and some numbers.
Can we go into that first?
Sure.
So every year, the national network and domestic violence does what we call DV counts is domestic
violence counts.
And this is one day of an unduplicated count of adults and children seeking domestic
violence services in the United States.
This annual survey documents the number of people sought services in a single 24-hour
period as well as the types of services they request.
The number of requested services that unfortunately were on Mac due to a lack of resources and
the issues and barriers domestic violence programs face in providing services to survivors.
So each year, our domestic violence counts report summarizes that data.
It's instrumental in raising awareness about domestic violence and the incredible work
local domestic violence programs do every day.
So this year's report came out for 2024.
Last year, the surveys were done on September 4th.
And according to that report, in Wisconsin alone, there were 1,955 victims served.
And out of that, 1,955 victims served, 1,069 adults and children actually utilize those
emergency shelter services, whether that was an emergency shelter like ours or a transitional
housing type organization, hotels, motels, and other housing provided by local programs.
And out of that, 1,955,886 adults and children received non-residential supportive services
like transportation, court, accompaniment, counseling, and more, there were 777 hotline contacts
received.
That means that those are individuals calling into crisis lines, similar to what we have
24 hours a day.
And so that actually averages to 32 contacts and hour as far as those hotline calls coming
in on most crisis lines.
That's an incredible stat.
I just wanted that to sit there, that last statement that you made there.
That's needed to be, I think that needs to reverberate through people's brains so that
really hits them and hits their hearts, hopefully.
You could have said one, and it'd be too many.
Like I hope that's kind of understood in this community and around this area.
We're being completely honest.
I think that we're fortunate to a degree in this area where we have a domestic violence
shelter, just like period, and that we have such great people behind it, that we have
so many community leaders that back this organization, that back this nonprofit that are behind
it and have been for a very long time.
We also know that the public, the narrative, it societally has shifted quite a bit in
the last 20 years when it comes to domestic violence.
And for one, us even talking about this in a raised voice instead of being hushed.
We've come to the light.
We've come a long way with that, and we've done some great work as a society on it.
We've seen these numbers at times go down a little bit and everything, pre-pandemic and
some of that.
There has been improvements made on this front, not enough.
Not enough has been done, not enough has happened yet.
And as you've heard me report, and you've heard the family center report, and many of our
great news people report on here, for at least two years now, the cuts to our domestic
violent shelters have been happening more and more, and the resources that are available
are less and less.
There has never been more of an all-hands-on-deck time than now when it comes to our local
domestic violent shelters.
We see these numbers, if not staying steady, increasing in some departments, in some areas.
And they have been since the pandemic.
This is one of those topics where I think that if you poll, most people you grab a stranger
on the street and you ask them, hey, what do you think about domestic violence?
Most people are going to be against it.
But how many people actually put that into action?
And by that, I don't mean just not hurting your loved ones, which is first and foremost,
of course.
Feel like that's not a controversial state.
Right.
I'm going out on the limb on saying that one.
But it's also putting it into action, whether it is volunteering or donating it to your
violent shelters in your area, your domestic violent shelters in your area.
That's a key.
That's a big part of this.
It is.
It goes a long way.
But there's also awareness and showing that you're on the right side of history with
this one.
And there is no going back, everybody.
This is where we are as a society now.
This is not cool.
It's never been cool.
It's never been an okay thing.
So we're finally on the place where we are admitting and being honest about this and
we're raising our kids this way.
And that is an incredibly vital part of this.
And so when those kids are growing up, their brains are sponges.
They're picking up all this stuff.
So whether you're making light of a story or you're making a joke about domestic violence
or any of these things, this stuff matters too.
It all adds up.
These numbers are where they are because we've been raising kids this way for so long.
You can't point the finger and blame, well, it's TV, it's movies, it's music, it's
guess what?
This has been around a lot longer than any of those things.
This is something where we have to look in the mirror as a society and take ownership
and take accountability.
We have to understand that this is something that we can do something about as well.
That's the cool part about this.
Yes, this is a problem that society has caused.
It's also something that we can fix.
We can make better.
And we can do it together.
That's the only way we get this done.
Working together as a community, working with our violent shelters, paying attention to
these numbers, not shying away from them, not doing the easy thing of, oh, that's not,
that's a heavy topic.
I don't want to talk about it.
That's how we got here.
Right.
We didn't want to talk about these things.
We would, oh, they'll let them, oh, we don't want to interfere.
We don't want to mess with our neighbors or these things.
I get it, especially in the Midwest, we're overly polite.
We don't like to do those things.
That's understood and I'm not asking anybody to change who they are.
But I am asking you to be a little more open-minded and have a little bit of your eyes open more.
And while you may not be able to help somebody that you would like, you can, by being a part
of things at the family center, paying attention to these numbers, spreading the awareness
about this stuff and being on the right side of history.
Correct.
Another, oh, did you have another, I'm sorry, I just, I was just going to lean into,
I found a segue and I love my segue.
Yeah, and I was going to take this thing off and I saw you going into it.
I did, but yeah, yeah.
Another great way of bringing awareness is coming up in October, because October is a
very important month for us at the family center.
Very important month for us.
Can we talk a little bit about that?
Yeah, of course.
So October is domestic violence awareness month and Wisconsin's Rapids Family Center
is actually going to be hosting its annual domestic violence awareness vigil.
That vigil is held to honor those who have tragically lost their lives to domestic violence
related homicide in Wisconsin throughout the entire year of 2024.
This event will be hosted at McMillan Library in their auditorium and we would like to
cordially invite all who would like to attend to join us on Thursday, October 23rd at 6 p.m.
The theme for this year is everyone knows someone and that theme is just there to remind
us to work together and to learn about the causes and the impacts of domestic violence
in our community so that we might recognize warning signs and empower those affected
by domestic violence.
I was talking to a younger person the other day in one of my classes and I was telling
her that I'm on the board of the family center and the work that's done over there and everything.
She was saying how she, well, this conversation started with, she didn't know anybody who
had really been, had dealt with something like this and when we got talking about it
and everything, I did not pry but I do think that there were some things that were occurring
to her that might have been under this umbrella that she had not realized.
And going back to that part of it of how we are raised and how we grow up and the things
we normalize and so much of that can happen with this topic.
When we host events like this, when we have events like this, I think that we have another
opportunity to help people, bringing awareness, yes, and bring attention to these things.
But also, the stats speak for themselves.
We know there are people out there struggling and hurting that we're not able to help and
hopefully this gives them that ability to be able to do that, that other avenue, that
other opening, that maybe even organic opportunity to be able to share their story and to get
the help that they deserve and everything because no human being on the planet deserves
this.
There's no justification for this period end of sentence in a life and in a time where
everything feels great, like it feels like there's a lot of gray in life, it's not just
black and white anymore or anything.
Here, you know, is one of those black and white topics.
There is no other side to this, domestic violence is wrong, it's not something we should
do, we should not hurt our loved ones.
End of sentence.
I feel like that's a pretty universal thing.
I feel like that's something that we can mostly, all of us can get behind.
Mostly can all agree on it.
Yeah, and when it comes to an event like this, I also think that yes, this is an event
to bring attention to those people we have lost and hopefully save others from not.
I also hope that it's an opportunity for people and certainly survivors to breathe a
little, to enjoy, to be around some camaraderie, some like-minded people, some people that feel
and think similarly.
And while I know that this is a heavy heart that we are, you know, attending this event,
to keeping in mind with this event, I want also, we don't do any good to the people we
have lost if we are just sad.
That's not how we accomplish, that's not how we make change.
That's not how we get people to listen and hear us.
We have to look at tomorrow.
We have to look at the future and look at a brighter day.
And I think in order to do that, oftentimes you've got to look at silver linings.
And here is, again, that silver lining, that we in this area have a domestic violence
shelter, that we have the family center, that we have events like this, and when you
show up to that event on October 23rd, I promise you, and I'd only say that word if I can
back it up, I promise you, you're going to see community leaders there, you're going
to see people there that maybe wouldn't have thought would be there, and then people
that you would, and you're going to see a lot of neighbors and friends and family and
a lot of people that are all on the same page when it comes to this.
It's a great, important event, and I also wanted to mention real quick that regardless,
if you are not touched by this topic or not, you are welcome and I think it's a great idea
for you to come.
As a matter of fact, if you have not learned or don't know much about domestic violence,
I think you're definitely the type of person to come down for this.
Yeah.
It's a great opportunity.
And speaking of those community members, that will be attending, that is also an evening
where we take the opportunity to present awards to some of those community members that
have been a rather large part of the work that we do, whether it be volunteering, providing
the educational piece, et cetera, law enforcement.
We're, to that point, Jessica, Mayor Madzackerel will be down there with a proclamation in city
bridge glowing purple, that's awesome.
That surprise at all, Matt loves being at these type of events, they're very important
to him.
Homes and businesses, we're encouraging all out there to be a part of this as well, maybe
you're not able to be a part of the event, even if you are, we have some great opportunities
for you to show your support to the family center and show that you stand on the right side
of history with this.
And one of the ways is, I think kind of cool, actually, the purple bulb, I like this.
Yeah, I'm excited for one, see the bridges.
Oh, yes, yeah, the lighting of the bridge has been a really nice ad to this.
So, Mayor is going to be illuminating our bridges and purple in proclamation of the
solitude and hope that domestic violence awareness month brings to our community and to the
nation.
And you can also show your support by illuminating anything that you have, whether it be your
porch light, a business marquee, like James mentioned, and showing support in that solidarity.
Mm-hmm.
It's a very simple way to do it, but it can mean so much, you know, it takes three, four
seconds.
How long does it take a DJ?
I'm doing lightbulb.
I'm thinking about that.
Yeah.
I might take a little longer for me than others.
But yeah, I'll get it done.
I'll get it done.
Right.
And it's simple.
And you do that.
And boom, right there, you are showing where you stand on this and showing solidarity.
Well, all of this said is important to community members, to young people out there, to so
many.
I don't want it to get lost in the shuffle, either.
It's hopefully another reminder to all the great people and the volunteers at the Family
Center that you guys are not alone in this, that we have your back, that we are supportive
of what you were doing over there, and we greatly appreciate the work that you're doing
over there.
Thank you.
It can be a universal thing.
It can be a lot of different things there.
Again, this event is coming up, the candlelight vigil will be Thursday, October 23rd.
The vigil itself will be at 6th, over at McMillan.
Correct.
Otherwise, the other parts of the day will be a wonderful parts of the day.
We'll be highlighting and talking about certainly on our shows, and finding out more, encourage
you to find out more at their website.
Jessica, thank you so much for the time.
Yeah.
And thank you so much again for your support and helping us shed a light on domestic violence.
And most importantly, this October, domestic violence awareness month.
Yeah, we'll be talking about it a lot, leading up to it, and certainly throughout the month
of October.
And we'll be talking with you guys again real soon.
Thank you again for the time.
Thank you.
Again, you can find out more by going to their website, familyctr.org, familyctr.org.
Be sure to follow them on social media as well, share their posts on your page.
You just never know who might see it otherwise.
And big thank you to Crockett Sceptic and all of you for listening to another edition
of WFHR's Rapids Report.
