Gallatin County offers resources for domestic violence survivors

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence fact sheet from 2020, 37.2 percent of Montanan women and 34.6 percent of Montanan men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes. To address this, there are resources available in Gallatin County and on MSU’s campus to assist survivors of abuse.

Haven is a Bozeman-based domestic violence refuge established in 1979. According to Haven’s website, the organization provides confidential support, counseling, legal advocacy and a safe place to stay for anyone impacted by any type of domestic violence.

“[Haven] takes a holistic approach in meeting the survivor where they are, helping them identify what are their greatest needs and then getting them connected with those resources,” said Haven’s Executive Director Erica Coyle. “It’s been one of the greatest privileges of my life —  getting to work with survivors and witnessing their strength.”

According to Coyle, Haven makes community engagement efforts to empower survivors and educate the general populace. This includes events like yoga classes, prevention programming and partnering with organizations like Youth Dynamics — which provides family-focused behavioral and mental health treatment to kids — to model healthy relationships to high schoolers, Coyle said. 

Haven has conducted focus groups with survivors. “The number one barrier to access services was the stigma and isolation that they felt," Coyle said. She said that the broader community needs to challenge the stigma of what a survivor looks like.  

In May 2023, Haven unveiled their new public-facing location, the Barnard Center. “It's our job to reduce barriers, so let's see how we can do that with the design of the new facility,” Coyle said.

MSU students also have access to on-campus resources if they find themself experiencing any type of domestic violence.

MSU’s Campus Civil Rights (CCR) office opened at the beginning of the fall semester in the Swingle Building. The location offers resources to any individual on campus experiencing protected-class discrimination of harassment, as well as interpersonal violence, according to its website. 

“[CCR] is here to help and support anybody that's dealing with discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment — including interpersonal violence,” CCR Case Manager Jessica Feltner explained to the Exponent in Sept. 2024 when the office opened. 

The MSU Women’s Center, located in the Strand Union Building, is another office students can access if they need support or referral to resources. “This is a great venue for educational programs and resource information and referrals,” said Betsy Danforth, the longtime director of the Women’s Center. 

According to Danforth, the Women’s Center has collaborated with Haven in the past, co-sponsoring a program to educate people on what gun violence looks like in a domestic violence situation. “There are a lot of people on this campus who are here to help, and there are many different avenues for students to approach struggles that they’re having,” Danforth said. 

Students in need of psychological support can access MSU’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) office, located in the Student Wellness Center. According to the organization’s website, it aims to provide students with counseling opportunities, information on outreach and prevention and various types of community consultations.

“10-12 percent of the student population comes to counseling, and we do have a bump compared to last year,” said CPS Assistant Director of Outreach and Prevention Laura Thum. Thum, a licensed psychologist, runs the Empower to Heal group longside her colleagues. The group offers confidential counseling for female-identifying students who have been impacted by any form of sexual or relational violence. 

When asked about off-campus collaboration with organizations like Haven, Thum explained that CPS uses them as a resource and mentions the organization to students who may need their services. “Hopefully [students] come to us first, because we’re all trained to do that trauma work or we can help them find those off-campus resources best suited to them,” she said.

“I would encourage students to check out our website and call if you have any questions,” Thum said. “I just want students to know we’re here for them.” 

Other resources in the Gallatin County area include the Bozeman Help Center (BHC) and the Abuse Support and Prevention Education Network (ASPEN). The BHC offers a 24-hour crisis hotline and walk-in crisis services, as well as sexual assault counseling, according to its website. ASPEN is a Livingston-based organization that provides support to survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse and trafficking as well as educational resources, according to its website.

For more information on MSU CPS, go to https://www.montana.edu/counseling/. 

MSU’s CCR is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. To access possible resources, head to its website at https://www.montana.edu/education/menu/resources/msu_ccr.html.

To access Haven’s resources, visit  havenmt.org.

To learn more about ASPEN, go to https://www.aspenmt.org.

To access more information about the BHC, check out https://www.bozemanhelpcenter.org/.