Group soothes pain of domestic violence

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - When the economy struggles, so do families. They struggle with finances but some also struggle with something even more painful, domestic violence.

For children ages 6-11, parents yelling, hitting or even worse is hard. Some of the younger children come into a support group at Prevail in Hamilton County known as Exploring My World.

"Kids come in with parents who have been sexually, verbally, physically and financially abused," said Dr. Lisa Fiess, a counselor at Prevail. "Sometimes they've never been heard. They've gone their whole life and no one has listened to their worries and struggles."

In one session, the children are asked to describe what abuse looks and feels like through pictures. They draw a girl and immediately add bruises. The girl in the drawing is crying, has a headache, hears a lot of yelling. Her throat is shaky, her heart broken, her stomach full of butterflies. She feels as though she will throw up. Her knees are wobbly. She is sad. She is almost always crying.

"It's shocking to hear what a child has witnessed. It is happening in Hamilton County, but people try to pretend it is not happening here," said Dr. Fiess.

Loretta Moore is the executive director of Prevail. She said they are not only seeing more people in the last three years, but the cases are more severe.

"We have kids come here that are eight years old and suicidal or 10 and disclosing sexual assault. Or kids telling you that abuse hurts and they feel scared and want to stop it, but can't," Moore said.

It is a cycle of violence Prevail is working to stop, as violence knows no boundaries.

"We have clients in million dollar homes and those who can barely afford to put food on the table," said Moore.

But at Prevail, children can still be children. They find that, within the support group, they are not alone within the walls of a broken home.

The four first ladies of Hamilton County, the mayors' wives from Westfield, Carmel, Noblesville and Fishers are chairing a fundraiser for Prevail at The Ritz Charles. Tickets are $75 each. The event is 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. and will be hosted by 24-Hour News 8 Anchor Karen Hensel.