The Cocoon, Wood County’s only comprehensive domestic and sexual violence agency, will celebrate 16 years of serving survivors on June 14.
The Cocoon’s doors opened on June 14, 2005, as solely an emergency safe shelter and within two hours the first survivor and her child were arranging to move in. Since then, The Cocoon has experienced a lot of changes and continues to adapt to the growing and ever-changing needs of survivors.
With the support of the community, The Cocoon has gone from being strictly an emergency safe shelter for survivors of domestic violence to becoming a full-service agency serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence including sex trafficking, their children, and even their pets. Cocoon advocates help survivors and their children by providing 24/7 emotional support, assisting them navigating court cases, providing medical advocacy at area hospitals when an assault is presented, and with extensive safety-planning and goal setting to increase the success a survivor has with living a life free of abuse.
In 2019, The Cocoon onboarded a Prevention Specialist and has developed a curriculum focusing on teaching the community at large about how we can all play a role in creating safe communities and stopping abuse before it happens. This curriculum can be adapted to fit audiences of all age ranges, sizes and industries. Training is available to schools, companies and organizations at no cost.
This year, The Cocoon added two grant funded positions – a Youth Advocate and a Housing Advocate. The Youth Advocate’s focus is providing one-on-one and family support to children who have witnessed and/or experienced violence. The advocate works with children and their caretakers in learning coping skills to deal with the effects of trauma. The Housing Advocate’s focus is to assist survivors secure more permanent and safe housing as they transition out of shelter.
The Cocoon is asking people to stand with survivors by making a donation to help them reach their 16 Years Strong campaign goal of $20,116. To learn more about The Cocoon’s programs and services visit www.thecocoon.org, donate at https://thecocoon.org/donate or call 419-373-1730.
