Help for non-English-speaking domestic violence victims
 SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels announced the launch of an innovative toll-free hotline for non-English-speaking victims of domestic violence. The 1-888 number offers one-call access that connects limited-English speaking domestic violence victims to services they need in their language. It is the first such service in the country.
The “Peace in the Home” Toll-Free Helpline – 1-888-847-7205 – links to a menu of 14 languages and directly connects callers to a community-based agency that can serve their language and service needs.
“This helpline will offer assistance to our city’s most vulnerable: refugee and immigrant victims of domestic violence who don’t speak English as a first language,” said Nickels. “We can connect these women to the services they need, and the hope for a better life.”
The Multilingual Access Project (MAP), a group of community agencies providing domestic violence services to non- and limited-English speaking immigrants and refugees, came up with the idea. A single-line phone access system has been a long-standing priority for MAP.
“Given culture and language barriers, finding help for immigrant and refugee victims of domestic violence can be especially difficult,” said Someireh Amirfaiz, executive director of the Refugee Women’s Alliance, one of the MAP organizations. “The toll-free helpline will greatly improve access to domestic violence services for refugees and immigrants.”
Calls to the Helpline are connected to multilingual domestic violence advocates at one of seven community agencies in the Seattle/King County area, including: Asian & Pacific Islander Women & Family Safety Center, Chaya, Consejo Counseling and Referral Service, Domestic Abuse Women’s Network, Eastside Domestic Violence Program, Refugee Women’s Alliance, and the YWCA of south King County.
The Helpline offers services in 14 languages: Amarinya or Amharic, Japanese, Khmer, Lao, Mandarin, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. Hindi will be added in the coming months.
Developed and funded by the city of Seattle’s Human Services Department, the Helpline costs about $6,000 per year to operate.
In 2007, 493 immigrants or refugees used city-funded programs for victims of domestic violence. In Seattle, foreign-born persons make up 17 percent of the city’s population but access city-funded domestic violence services at a much higher proportion.
The city of Seattle has a long-standing commitment to addressing domestic violence. The city’s investment to fight domestic violence and to provide services and support for victims has steadily increased over the years, reaching $16 million in 2007.
Most of the city’s investment – 75 percent – is spent on criminal justice (through the Police and Law Departments and the Municipal Court). Twenty-five percent of funding is spent in the Human Services Department, mostly for contracting with community-based agencies for victim services, batterer intervention programs, prevention programs, and homelessness.
In addition to the helpline, the city will increase interpreter services to assist limited-English speaking immigrant and refugee victims of domestic violence in accessing needed services.
Peace in the Home Helpline Information Translated into 14 Languages - Acrobat PDF
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