friday, january 30, 2004
news
the university daily kansan
5A
Organizer has grown up fighting domestic violence
Megan True/Kansan
By Samia Khan
skhan@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Lea Burgess-Carland is the volunteer program coordinator at the Women's Transitional Care Services, a battered women's shelter. Her mother worked with abused women, and she is following in her footsteps by encouraging others to help.
Lea Burgess-Carland was only in the first grade when her mother's friend showed up at her front door with a black eye. She witnessed her mother help the woman regain her strength and renew her life.
"I was scared, but I was too young to grasp the complexity of it," she said.
it, she said.
Now Burgess-Carland, 25, is surrounded by the complexity of domestic violence. She is the volunteer program director for Women's Transitional Care Services, a battered women's shelter and support network.
Her mother was a survivor of domestic abuse and began volunteering at the shelter in the late 1970s. At that time, it was the only shelter available to women in Kansas.
Burgess-Carland's mother went into labor with her while volunteering at the shelter. The
"It's a reality that I've always known about," she said.
place where Burgess-Carland nearly began her life has continued to play an important part of her life.
Even though her mother always discussed domestic violence with her at a young age, Burgess-Carland said it was college that helped her connect social factors and inequality to the issue of domestic violence. The shelter is a necessity for women who have no place to go or no money to feed their kids, she said.
Burgess-Carlton graduated from the University of Kansas last May in women's studies and English and continues recruiting volunteers for the shelter.
"I really love my job," she said. "Volunteers are so incredibly important. They inspire me."
Burgess-Carland said the initiative of a volunteer who bean soliciting donations to pay for transportation from school to the shelter for children showed the importance of volunteers. School
buses require a free to transport children from the shelter to the school if it fall outside the district. Many of the women could not afford the fee and their children were forced to switch between schools. Now, the mothers can draw from a fund of over a $1,000 to pay for buses and taxis.
Saida Bonifield, Lawrence senior, has known Burgess-Carland all her life. Bonifield said she began volunteering because of Burgess-Carland's encouragement. Foreign language speakers are a limited but important resource for the shelter, and Bonifield's Spanish skills have helped.
Like many of the volunteers, Bonifield is encouraged by Burgess-Carland's support in dealing with tough situations and crisis calls.
"She's a really positive person and somebody I can talk to," Boniffeld said.
Burgess-Carland understands an issue such as domestic violence can seem defeating. She is inspired further by knowing so
many people are willing to help without seeing any immediate progress.
"It's all the little things that make it worth it," she said.
The little things add up: A battered woman, who spoke no English and had no acquaintances, took a chance and walked into a restaurant, hoping the employees could communicate with her. The owner connected her with the shelter. A few months later the woman got a divorce, a job and an apartment with her three daughters, Burgess-Carland said.
Volunteering at THE SHELTER had given her rewards she didn't expect, Burgess-Carland said. She has connected with people who feel as passionately as she does about helping women with nowhere to turn.
"It's incredibly rewarding to feel like you're doing something and not just letting it happen," she said. "It's made me a stronger person."
Edited by Henry C. Jackson
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