Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511240052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ann (not her real name) and her children left their home after years of physical and verbal abuse from her husband. She had had to quit her job after missing too many days because of the violence.
``It would get worse and worse,'' she said. ``Sometimes we would sit in the car outside until 4 a.m. until it got peaceful. Sometimes we would just ride around for hours.''
Now, with the help of a group assisting battered and homeless women in Bedford County called HONOR-QUEST, Ann and her children have food, clothing and a working car. She has help with her job search, and her children will have Christmas presents this year.
Founded two years ago by retired 64-year-old naval officer Jack Mills, HONOR-QUEST rents a ``safe house,'' where it shelters one woman and her family and can provide temporary emergency housing to others.
The organization provides job help; emotional support; family counseling; and financial help in the form of transportation, food, and money for bills. In turn, it seeks to make women self-sufficient so they can provide for their families.
Ultimately, Mills wants to buy a large tract on which to build a community where battered women and their families can live.
``My main effort is to get enough shelters so no woman in Bedford County will be homeless'' or have to return to an abusive husband, Mills said. ``My sister was beaten 40 years ago, and I decided as long as these [women] had a choice between being homeless or abused, I would make a difference personally.''
Mills, who has worked with troubled youths at camps in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, has sought the help of local governments to promote his message.
Last week, Bedford, Vinton and the Bedford County School Board all passed proclamations on behalf of HONOR-QUEST, asking residents to keep Thanksgiving week free of domestic violence.
``We need to raise the awareness of people in the community, and we need to stop sweeping it under the rug,'' Mills said.
Mills is skeptical of government's ability to provide real solutions to social problems such as domestic violence and juvenile crime.
Instead of throwing money at a problem, he says, he concentrates on needs. For example, the woman who is staying at the HONOR-QUEST house has has been taught to drive while there. With help to pay bills, she has been able to go back to school to earn her high school diploma.
By next year, she plans to start her own housecleaning business, so she'll stop receiving financial assistance from HONOR-QUEST. Even though HONOR-QUEST bought a car for her, she says she'll buy her own and give this car back.
``One of the things I find very intriguing about this program is that citizens aren't coming to the government and asking, `What are you going to do about this problem?''' said Bedford Mayor Mike Shelton. ``It's people taking responsibility for themselves.''
Mills is getting support for his vision from all over the county. Sheriff-elect Mike Brown is a supporter; Brown's wife, Janet, is on HONOR-QUEST's board of directors.
Many Bedford-area businesses have contributed to Mills. And as soon as HONOR-QUEST receives tax-exempt status, probably next month, other benefactors have said they will contribute.
HONOR-QUEST is providing a much-needed service, some say.
``I think he has a vision of permanent housing or temporary housing for abuse victims, and this is definitely needed, along with transitional support and healing time," said Ellen Brown of the Women's Resource Center in Roanoke.
Mills is on the center's advisory committee. The center and HONOR-QUEST have made referrals to each other, Brown said.
Edna Hayden, a community activist in Bedford, is on HONOR-QUEST's board of directors. She said, ``I think Jack Mills is wonderful. ... He has given [abused women] something to look forward to - a place to live where they're not beaten on.
``A lot of times, women don't tell about abuse because they're insecure. They think they won't have food or housing for their children if they tell. But now there is help for them. They don't have to take that mess anymore.''
by CNB