Published by admin on 11 Nov 2008 at 09:50 am
Tough Economic Times Spur Increasing Domestic Abuse
By Sally Kalson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Money problems are always a risk factor in relationships. With record job losses, home foreclosures and the collapse of the financial markets, more people are looking at unemployment and insecurity than at any time in recent memory. That translates into more tension at the much-vaunted “kitchen table” that politicians like to invoke.
As a result, organizations that deal with domestic violence and substance abuse are bracing for more demand for their services — even as the recession is forcing some to cut budgets and lay off their own personnel.
The National Domestic Abuse Hotline, headquartered in Austin, Texas, could be the canary in the coal mine. The hot line documented a whopping 21 percent increase in calls for September over the same month in 2007, said spokeswoman Retha Fielding.
