Domestic violence organization

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miriam Aceves 

Domestic Violence Organization

May 16, 2019

Department of Sociology California State University, Fresno

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

This organization in California who focuses on helping survivors of domestic violence. The center has two main center that conduct different jobs for the survivors. The center is involved with the community in bringing awareness about domestic violence. Not only does the organization help the survivors directly with shelter, food, transportation, and counseling but it also focuses on providing resources so that the survivors can become independent members of society. I chose this group because of the great foundation it has within our community but also the focus it has on women. I personally have never been a victim of domestic violence thankfully but woman are the number one victims in domestic violence.I observed the community center in a two-week time frame. I observed the center's interactions to try and understand the center from a sociological aspect. I visited the center in hour slots with a few days in between observations so I can get different aspects throughout different times and days of the center. With these observations, I gather sociological theories like roles and statuses, definition of the situation, presentation of self and identity. 

The organization that helps victims of domestic abuse because it is very involved with the community and has lots of ties with other organizations. I found a lot of articles, videos, news stories and social media posts that would tell me a lot about the organization. In gathering this information, I found out about what the organization stands for, their values, why they do what they do and how they go about doing so with the help of the community. This organization is a non-for profit organization so it uses a lot of communication with social media and other sources to be recognized within California.

 

Literature Review 

 

Society holds its own reality which Durkheim calls sui generis reality. Everything in society has external factors. Although unspoken everything is only real or true because we hold it to be true. Our decision to hand shaking as a way to greet is us making that a norm. Social facts are apart from statistical facts because divorce rates are rising does not steer away from the social fact that it is still undesirable. We add to social facts. Morality for Durkheim is different from what is right and what is wrong. Durkheim describes morality as formal and informal rules. If a person has social solidarity the person does all the formal social rules. 

Being yourself can mean many different self's. Self-according to the chapter refers a reflexive process that includes a person's subjective stream of consciousness as well as his or her concept of self as a physical, social, and moral being. Basically, individuals have multiple self's and they change according to the situation, the relationship with others and how they perceive themselves to be wanting to be seen. Interactionists explain an individual's ability to be malleable with their selves comes from the interactions they've had with others. The self and social process comes from George Herbert Mead which explains the "me" in situations. Language and symbols are anchored in the communication process. A conversation between the "I" and the "me" is explained as the "I" the inner self and the "me" as the self that others should see or want to see. Once we have gone through that conversation we go into the self-indication and it's how we make sense of things in the world. Herbert Blumer says we evaluate our setting and objects within them and thus figure how to act and react. Moreover, the concept of self-concept or how an individual view themselves as a social, physical, moral and spiritual being. And this is basically measured on the self-attitudes a person has of themselves. A person will likely describe themselves in regards of how they feel about themselves. For example, if a person is asked who they are and the respond "I am short" they are likely to be conscious they are short and have a specific attitude towards that. This is called the physical self and describes physical things. Other selves include social self and reflective self. Self-presentation is the manipulation of regions, or places that separate our "front-stage" conduct from our "back-stage" behavior. In frontstage our behavior is exposed to an audience and we have to act in a matter where we please that audience. In backstage, we might contradict the frontstage and we might feel more comfort in the backstage. Goffman explained that barriers between frontstage and backstage are very important for successful impression management. In the backstage, it lets what he calls "performers" to destress and release themselves from frontstage. This occurs so frequently and with ease that it does not feel dramaturgical. We can also decide when to perform front or backstage based on our level of care to the situation. Goffman says that identity negotiation is intended to label what type of situation we are in and what role we play in it to then act accordingly. For example, are we employee to employer or employee to customer.  He says this is typically easier, given more cashiers or employees wear name tags and uniforms. Goffman emphasizes the role of identities with situated identities which we announce our identity and give others their roles. This term ties with the presentation of self which is we hold ourselves accountable for what we perceive or want others to perceive of ourselves. The example used is parenting which a parent wants to present themselves as a parent to their children and therefore the children present themselves as children of said parent. Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice (emphasizes on Goffman)

                        This article focuses on hospice workers and how they manage being hospice workers who are caring and compassionate but also individuals with their own self presentations. The front and the back stage is used among hospice workers for many reasons. As discussed in class the front stage of hospice workers is to show empathy and caring individual towards their clients and the audience being the family of the client. Among other hospice workers the backstage is performed for many reasons. One of the reasons is to fulfill a self-presentation of community and identity among the other hospice workers an inclusion per say. Another reason hospice workers have a backstage is to destress and ground themselves. A classmate in class explained her experience in that field and she said it can get very stressful very quick and that a backstage making fun and taking things in a light manner helped her not take things personally. The frontstage in hospice is the maintenance of proper appearance like checking on every client and being caring while showing empathy. The backstage in hospice may be hospice workers complaining of needy clients and discussing things that in the frontstage is not permitted. According to Goffman workers strategically manipulate their front and backstage selves to hide their true selves. As mentioned before we are performers and we all act in a way that we think others want us to act to practice our impression management. In the case of hospice workers Chambliss gained trust not by being a volunteer at the facility but by engaging in the front and backstage of the situation. Most people will give you their trust if they can relate to you and backstage would be that situation. Because hospice found common ground in the difficult and unseen areas of hospice they can feel at ease to complain and discuss their problems with one another thus gaining trust and inclusion.  The article also discussed detachment of death. In gaining detachment from death workers still found themselves professional and unemotional in the backstage.  

 

There are many ways in which qualitative date conducts research. Next I Will discuss three main ways in which sociologists use ethnography, interviewing and content analysis to gather data and use it to create qualitative data. 

The definition of Ethnography is basically conducting research in depth in a specified setting. Setting, time, your ability to access is very important aspects to consider during ethnographic research. First setting is important. Having access to the setting is crucial. It is key to have a setting where ethnographic research can be done like interviews. A quite setting would be ideal as well as public. Be flexible but also take in to consideration accessibility, and cost. As mentioned previously a public setting would be easily accessible and in most cases, free. In the chapter, it set an example of not being able to conduct easy access to the west wing of the white house which is true but it would also cost money for travel. The cost of travel to the setting is also something to take into consideration. This takes me to the next point in the chapter which is starting where you are. Your geographical location will determine what can be easily accessible but also starting what you already are a member of too. It would be much easier to start ethnographic research on a group you already are familiar with. The presentation of self in ethnographic entrée is essential. The book explains that first impressions are important and the same goes for ethnographic research. Presenting yourself in a polite and genuine way will create a seriousness to the research and you will be treated with much more respect as a researcher thus gaining more factual knowledge. For example, when interviewing someone it is important to have proper presentation of self so that the interviewee feels safe, professional and not at risk. Once you start conducting actual research you'll most likely do observing. When observing, it is important to include as much detail as possible also known as thick description. It might be difficult to include as much detail into your field notes (notes taken while observing on site) but there are many ways people create shortcuts. Ethnographic research can be fun and useful but lots of things must be taken into consideration. 

            An interview is a type if structured conversation where the interviewer conducts questions that are relevant to a specific topic and guides the conversation to obtain the interviewees answer about the specific topic. There are many types on interviews as covered in the chapter. Common types of interviews include the job interview and the survey interview which is what people are most accustomed to. The oral history approach is one that focuses on historical events and description of that specific event. This semester we used the qualitative interview or the in-depth interview to obtain research. There are different ways to exercise the qualitative interview for example the most common is one interviewer one respondent face to face but a focus group can also be used. Telephone qualitative interviews can also take place. It is important to know when to use the interview method. In the book, they state a rule of thumb that if wanting to research in behavior and interaction use the ethnographic method and if conducting biography and accounts use the interview method. Next we must form an interview guide to select specific questions relating to the topic of our interest. Typically, these questions would be submitted to an IRB and in the case of the semester project Professor Kubal is the IRB. The IRB is basically a regulatory step to insure good research practices. The format of the questions should be from less disturbing/easy questions first and more in depth/difficult questions left last. And always to validate and PROBE. The book also states that the number and type of respondent is better. With regards to the number of respondents that is a factor of how much time and resources you have. The more respondents the better. With regard to type the book refers to the background of the respondent. For example, the director of an organization will give a different interview than an employee of the same organization. A mix of respondents is always best. There is lots of technology you can use to conduct the actual research. In this class I used the audio recording app and the audio feature on my phone. To transcribe I used a combination of Otter voice and Temi. No matter what technology used it is always important to create good interview atmosphere like cancelling out background sound and being focused on the interview. 

Content Analysis Qualitative data also includes the documents, images and the internet. The content analysis is studying representation in media and can be used in humanities and social sciences. People who study the content analysis look to find a relation between the objects/media with the interactions of people. Some sources commonly used are magazines and advertisements. Much like the semester long project where we gathered documents, pamphlets, articles, media posts and much more regarding our organization. Using these items to gain qualitative research gives us an idea of what the organization would like to demonstrate to the world. With sociologists are interested in how media portrays culture. Gender in media is extremely interesting in regards how woman are depicted compared to males also adolescents. In media, the ideal woman's body is related to turning to cosmetic surgery. This is only one of the many things culture can study like family, gender, age and race. With so many sources to choose from sampling the documents is an important part of content analysis research. Similar to what we did in class we had to pick the sources/documents with utmost relevance to our study. Once we've gathered enough sources we need to analyze them. It's easy to analyze thick description because it gives is the most detail. Analytic description is to develop understandings of how or why the sources are presented. When you first start analyzing whether field notes, documents, or images the ideas that come to you first are a rough draft of the analysis. You will then see a theme within your analysis of the sources. The analysis will reflect your skill on the theme. It is a good idea to always maintain a master copy when coding or analyzing. Also, separating interview transcripts from field notes can keep your content analysis organized. In the chapter, it describes the technologies you may use like colored pencils but in class we mostly used Nvivo and Ncapture. Content analysis focuses on finding a pattern to analyze culture.

Methods

Ethnography Methods 

            The way I observed this center was using thick description. I didn't know much about the center so using the Martian role and keeping my eyes and mind open to detail was required. As mentioned I visited the community center three different days with a few days of in between time. My visit was about 1 hour and five or ten minutes depending how easy I got comfortable enough to start observing and was allowed to observe. The three dates I observed were March 30, 2019, April 2, 2019, and April 5, 2019. I tried to do morning noon and later afternoon to have a variety. The community center is about 30min away from where I live so the travel time wasn't too bad but the area of the center is not the best and I didn't feel safe to go any later for observations. The method I used for my observation was a combination of taking hand written notes and talking in to the recording app and then rewrite my notes right after I exited the center so that I didn't forget much details. I got in my car and added more detail that I couldn't write down at the center. I've added and analyzed my notes so that they relate to a specific theory of sociology. 

Interview Methods 

In this interview paper, I used a combination of interviews, Nvivo coding, word clouds, and theory to obtain my research. I gained written consent from the interviewees to record their interview. I stated that this would be completely anonymous and no names or location would be used to keep their privacy and the identity of the organization and everyone involved safe. I proceeded to obtain fifty minutes of interviews. I transcribed the interview audios using a combination of otter voice and temi websites. I then edited the transcriptions and used Nvivo to create nodes that would fit a specific theory. Also, using Nvivo I created word clouds with important words within my interviews. I then used quotes to support my content analysis of the research.

Content Analysis Methods 

For this part of the paper I have gathered thirty sources that include videos, article, flyers, news sources, and social media posts about a California domestic violence center. I gathered these sources to create a theme and use diagnosis, prognosis, identity, agency frame and motivation to analyze them. I used technology like ncapture and Nvivo to capture sources and code them into the nodes named diagnosis, prognosis, identity, motivation and agency frame. I was careful not to use sources that were to distant from my actual organization of study. Once I coded the sources into nodes I then created a word cloud. I will now describe each term I used for the node as well as include quotes from the sources.

 

 

 

 

 

Analysis 

Ethnography 

Thick Description 

            The first day March 30, 2019 of my observation I didn't know anything about the center so my instinct was to focus on the environment of the center. When I enter the first thing I saw and was greeted with was a very nice lady. In my notes I described her like so. 

"The first thing I see is a lady behind a desk. She was in her mid-40s very inviting. Sweet face and walks up from her chair to greet me. She shakes my hand with both hands."

I wanted to focus on what I saw so I walked around and gave much of the detail on the hallways and features of the rooms. 

"There was 12 framed pictures on the wall. These woman can mean an important contribution to the center and that's why are being honored with framed pictures. On the other side of the same hallway are more pictures but events. The center seems very involved with community because these framed pictures have public figures within the community at these events. All smiles and people hugging each other, lots of group pictures."

On the second day April 2, 2019 of observation I wanted to focus more on interactions and it was perfect since the center was doing an outside activity. I obtained lots interactions and symbolic interaction. 

"In this particular group where the "new woman" was the game ran slower. I can tell the new woman was much more reserved. She didn't talk as loud as the other woman and kept putting her head down when she didn't know what else to do. The coordinator played a major role in helping her express herself within that group. The coordinator actually stood next to her and rooted for her when it was her turn to pass the sand bag. After a few rounds of the sand bag going around she seemed more relaxed."

 

 

Statuses

            Within the center I saw a clear definition with statuses and how they played within the center. The statuses I identified were coordinator, client, front desk lady, and employee cleaners. 

.           "The coordinators wear t-shirts and hats with running shoes (comfortable attire)."

"Two ladies again in their mid-40s spoke about laundry and clothing arrangements."

"The first thing I see is a lady behind a desk."

            These statuses were define clearly because of what the roles held as duties within the center. Of course the center is for the community so the client status was easy to identify because there was more woman needing help than actual coordinators or of any other statuses. 

Roles

The roles that are attached with the statuses were a bit more difficult to identify. With the front desk lady I identified her role that of a receptionist greeting and serving the public because of the way she greeted me as I entered. 

 "She shakes my hand with both hands."

The role of a coordinator I identified to be as a comforter and someone who helps guide another person. I saw this while the center played the sand bag game. 

"The coordinator actually stood next to her and rooted for her when it was her turn to pass the sand bag."

The role of the cleaning ladies is to maintain the center neat and orderly. I only observed them for a few minutes and didn't write much about them but I feel they are an important role within the center. 

"Two ladies again in their mid-40s spoke about laundry and clothing arrangements."

Lastly the client role was the easiest to identify because every other role within the center was there to accommodate the client role. The client role is essentially why the center is up and running. The client role serves as the purpose for the center. 

 

 

Definition of the Situation 

This theory I think I saw the most of because of my play on the Martian role. I don't know much about how the center functions on a day to day basis so every observation was my definition of the situation. For example on day 2 hour 2 March 30, 2019 of my observation I observed some type of game played. To me I thought they were playing something like hot potatoes. I thought the sand bag wasn't wanted and that's why they were passing it around. 

"The woman say the word and pass it to the next person then the person states what the previous woman said plus another word." 

 

My definition of the situation was using prior knowledge of the hot potato game I didn't actually know what symbols or vocabulary they were using actually meant but I used my common sense to define the situation. 

 Presentation of Self 

Presentation of self is the way people portray themselves and how they want people to see them. Within the center I saw only woman. Woman in general care a lot about how they look and in the center I saw presentation of self. For example the coordinators had the role to take leadership and instead of wearing suits or something that would create a distance or barrier between the coordinators and the clients they were inviting and relaxed. 

"The coordinators wear t-shirts and hats with running shoes (comfortable attire)."  

I think the presentation the coordinators they gave were that they were there to help the client and really get hands on with the center. I also saw a presentation of self from one of the woman that was one of a home feeling. When someone is in their territory they portrayed a different body language. Like 

"Another woman is sitting with her legs crossed and her arm resting on the arm of a brown fabric couch." 

 

 

Interview

Status:Within the interviews there was a lot of status within the organization. The organization is a big organization so it employs a lot of people giving each employee a specific job title or status. A few of the status include. 

"I'm part of the criminology program. So, I teach different like, I've taught theories of criminology, diversity, and crime victimology, depending on what classes they get me so."

"so what my role here is, I'm the residential services manager and I oversee our Fresno safe house and our Clovis transitional house, which is where you are right now. I have a staff of 19, which includes client service advocates and emergency case managers."

"Our executive director, she oversees all of these apartments, she oversees all of the locations she does, she has very well established relationship with the community with fundraiser fundraisers with donors."

So, within the organization statuses are important to control the environment and help the survivors as much as possible. I interviewed the residential services manager and she explained the status within the organization and also how important they are within the community. In this word cloud shown it is a word frequency of the statuses within the organization. Other statuses not mentioned but are very important are the survivor and/ or the client which is shown in the word cloud. 

 

Roles:With statuses comes a lot of role taking. Within the organization roles are very important to ensure the survivors safety and the best outcome for the survivor. Roles can be anywhere from making beds, cooking food, to overseeing the clients and raising money to fund the organization. In the quote, we are talking about the executive director which is the highest level of status within the organization. 

"Our executive director, she oversees all of these apartments, she oversees all of the locations she does, she has very well established relationship with the community with fundraiser fundraisers with donors. And her main goal is to collect money because we're a nonprofit organization." 

The executive director works closely with the community to raise money to fund the organization since the organization is non-profit. The executive director reaches out to the police department, other organizations and charitable events to raise funds. 

The next role is pertaining the status of client service advocate which is the person who asses the survivor to determine their qualification with the organization. She has a lot of client exposure and her role is very important. 

"So we do, uh, so we did the assessment. If they qualify, they come in and then it just sorta, um, they're given a room, individual rooms, they won't have to, you know, bump with another family or anything. They all have their individual rooms. Um, and, but they do share facilities like the kitchen, the community room, you know, restrooms, that sort of thing. So, they're like a dorm style I guess you'd say. Um, so once they do qualify, then they're offered a series of different services. "

 

The next role is pertaining with the status of the residential services manager. The residential services manager has less contact with the survivors but oversees all the other roles. She is the person whom I received approval to do this project and has many roles within her status. 

"so our agency helps survivors of domestic violence, so a lot of them become homeless due to the domestic violence and they have nowhere safe to go. So, they come to our safe house. What happens after that, because we're a 30-day emergency shelter, average length of stays 30 day, what we do is we start planning a goal with them, whether it's them getting stable housing, getting employment, getting assistance from, you know, any county resources, so depending on where they're at, we meet their needs, a lot of them do go the housing path. So, we help them we have different housing programs, we have the rapid rehousing, we have permanent housing, we have housing first, depending on where they want to live. These are Assistance Program. So, they help either with a security deposit. Three months' rent, our permanent housing can assist for up to two years of rental assistance. And then there's also some of them that do have section eight vouchers, so we help them try to get a voucher with a new address so that they don't have to go back to where they were living with their abusive partner."

 

The organization has many other roles which are more client based or more resource based. Using this word cloud, we can see the most used words are help, violence, domestic and client. 

 

 

Backstage:The backstage performance is a concept of Goffman which states that everyone is playing a role in a drama per say. Everyone has their frontage performance which is what you think people want to see which is following the rules and being polite. The backstage is a performance that you feel comfortable with it's a more relaxed performance. Within every organization there is both performances. We can see the backstage between coworkers for example. 

"And it's like so then how do you vent because our team we tell them come to me, you know, come if you need to curse because sometimes clients pissed them off. Let's be real, like they wanted. I'm like, come into my office, you want to throw stuff cuz(curse) but do it in my office, don't do it elsewhere, because then I'm going to hear about and you're going to get in trouble. I have that relationship where they'll come close the door and start cursing and I've said it do it. I'm okay with it."

 

The backstage performance in this scenario is the coworkers cursing to the residential services manager. The residential services manager explains cursing in front of survivors would get them in trouble so this performance is done in the backstage. Other performances that would be included in the backstage would be special language that only coworkers would understand or communication that survivors do not have access to. For example 

"We usually tend not to talk in front of the clients. Of course, you do communicate and do, breathe. We do, um, you know, um, make notes for each other, that sort of thing. So, they're aware of, um, because we have different shifts. We have the morning shift, the mid shift, the um, the graveyard shift. So, we have different ones. So, he communicates on how, you know, hey, could you follow up on this because I noticed this or you know, just any way to help the client. And we don't have codes or anything, but he just between us and not the client. Yeah, it's totally separate. Um, we meet separate, we brief on, you know, the needs of the client and so we're all together on the same page and so he can get the best outcomes, you know, for the clients."

 

Although they don't use special language or codes the employees try to keep information confidential. They do so by communicating about survivors away from the presence of survivors. The employees hold special briefing meetings to communicate so this would be considered backstage performance. 

Frontstage:The frontstage is the opposite of backstage as mentioned previously. The frontstage in this organization would be dealing with the client/survivor. This includes client service advocate status and even the residential services manager along with the executive director. These statuses include roles that create a good image of the organization. For example, the role of the executive director is to fund the organization by going out to the community and connect with other organization and people like the police department. The executive director also attends and organizes charitable events. All these roles are done in the frontstage and must maintain a level of etiquette and manners and attitudes. For example 

"Our executive director, she oversees all of these apartments, she oversees all of the locations she does, she has very well established relationship with the community with fundraiser fundraisers with donors. And her main goal is to collect money because we're a nonprofit organization. And we're growing and domestic violence is growing. I mean, right now, our safe house is full. And I have about 12 families in the motel, because when we get full, we're not going to turn somebody away. So in turn, what we do is place them in a motel, which obviously puts a financial strain on us, but we're not going to turn them away. So our executive director is out in the community meeting with like the leaders and establishing partnerships and getting us the money to keep operating."

 

Another example of the frontstage performance is that of the client services advocate in which greets the survivor and asses their qualification and need with the organization. She must be very calm and collected as well as understanding and empathetic to the survivor because of their fragile state emotionally. 

"As a client service client service advocate  um, we are uh, sort of like the front line of it. We have a hotline and we were on the hotline and answering calls. Um, we do a lot of  safety planning with them. 
Figure out, you know, what type of situation they're in. And then of course, we still have to have, even though we're doing an assessment over the phone, we still have them happen come in in person and to do basically an assessment, um, more detail, more questions. It could be anywhere or like now we're an hour and a half depending on, you know, on the person and their situation and everything."

 

As mentioned the client service advocate is the front line of the organization and can determine the rest of the course for the survivor. Another example of the frontstage performance is the emergency crisis team. The emergency crisis team deals with survivors much like the client service advocate but focuses on emergency situations whether it be trauma, drugs, endangerment of the survivor or homelessness. 

"So the crisis team handles our 24/7 hotline, they do the in-person assessments, when someone comes in, in that traumatic state, they do the assessments, and they would also have all the house."

 

The Self: The self focuses on how the individual perceives themselves. SO, the approach I took on asking about this concept is "How do you think you are viewed within this organization? What impact do you think you've done in this organization and your status?"  For example

"So it's just, uh, just, I guess they just think I'm a little strong to be able to do that now, you know, from, um, having come out of there and they're appreciating me being able to help other women because of course they are, you know, kids who were affected by it also. And so just the fact that, that they see it as a good thing as to help, you know, other families to avoid, you know, maybe some things that they went through and helping them to understand and just, you know, even just talking about it, you know, uh, with them as adults, you know?"

 

So, this specific interviewee went through domestic violence herself and was encouraged to get involved with the organization. You can tell she has a sense of pride with where she's come from and her roles with this organization by the way her eyes lit up and her posture straightened. 

Content Analysis 

Diagnosis: Diagnosis is the term used to depict what my group is trying to solve. In the case of the domestic violence organization I studied. The organization is trying to solve the problem of domestic violence. Domestic violence can encompass many areas including emotional, financial or physical. The center uses social media, and events to bring awareness to the harm and prevalence domestic violence has. 

 

"The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (the Partnership) is California's recognized domestic violence coalition, representing over 1,000 advocates, organizations and allied groups. With offices in Sacramento, the Partnership's diverse membership spans the entire state. Through our public policy, communications and capacity-building efforts, we align prevention and intervention strategies to advance social change."

 

The center focuses on education on domestic violence because most of the population argue that domestic violence is only an issue for women and most don't realize how common domestic violence is.

"Domestic violence is a term commonly misunderstood. Red said people tend to think of domestic violence as intimate partner violence, but it can also be abuse between partners who are no longer intimate, like ex-lovers."

"Violence is a learned behavior, so it makes perfect sense that although one in four women and one in seven men will experience domestic violence, right now one in three teens are experiencing teen dating violence," said Nicole Linder, the executive director of the Domestic Violence Center." 

 

 Domestic violence can take many forms and there is a cycle to it. 

 

"The cycle of violence acute explosion honeymoon tension building around denial acute explosion is the abuser hitting strangulation emulating imprisonment rape using weapons verbal abuse destroying property honeymoon abuser promises to get help begs forgiveness."

 

 

Prognosis:Prognosis is the solution that the organization commits to. In the case of the domestic violence organization they use awareness/education-

"The know More Program started as a teen relationship abuse prevention program that reaches out to more than 15 high schools and 10 intermediate schools in Fresno County."

 

community events, safe houses, -

 

 

 

"An emergency shelter is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The emergency shelter has 93 beds and 40 rooms. A 23-bed transitional shelter is available for women and children who need a longer length of stay."

 

24/7 crisis hotline, domestic violence programs and so much more ways to try to stop domestic violence. 

The domestic violence issue has been so major that they have even pushed to create laws/procedures for domestic violence cases. 

"Gradually, that began to change. California legislators started to seriously address domestic violence. Today, officers are required to take action. If they see evidence of abuse — the imprint of a hand on a face, a cut eye, a torn dress — they make an arrest. Reports must be sent to the district attorney's office for possible prosecution."

 

Domestic violence is a very big issue and the organization tries to prevent domestic violence case by creating an awareness that will help people know the signs and get out on time. 

 

Motivation: Motivation is exactly that. In this section I explain why the organization helps out the domestic violence victims. This specific organization was founded because of a tragic domestic violence case that brought the domestic violence topic to everyone's minds. 

 

"She was committed to serving others, and volunteers in our community continued that legacy by establishing the Domestic Violence Center in 1979. The center — which provides housing, counseling and legal services to victims of domestic violence — played a crucial role as law enforcement became proactive in dealing with this crime."

 

The organization loves to see people overcome domestic violence. 

 

"To talk to the women. To see these children that are growing up in this to give them maybe that little bit of hope," said Brown."

 

"The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence promotes the collective voice of a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals, working to eliminate all forms of domestic violence. As an advocate for social change, we advance our mission by shaping public policy, increasing community awareness, and strengthening our members' capacity to work toward our common goal of advancing the safety and healing of victims, survivors and their families."

 

Identity:In the case of the identity of the organization we are referring to its members. Of course, the domestic violence victims are the principal members. Also, members are the organizations coordinators, linked organization, law enforcement, educators and the community. 

"Kallsen said the Clovis City Council deserves credit because it voted unanimously in February 2011 to allow the Domestic Violence Center to be built, making it the first homeless shelter of any kind in the city."

"Women's Resource Coordinator Jenny Whyte said one event is the annual Domestic Violence Awareness Night hosted by the Fresno State women's softball team on April 16."

 

"October is domestic violence awareness month; a time police and advocates have set aside to highlight how common intimate partner violence is and encourage people to seek help. It's acutely problematic in Fresno County, where authorities receive a shockingly high number of calls reporting domestic violence. That left our news team wondering: Why?"

 

"The DA has also partnered with the police to find abusers and with local nonprofits to help victims."

 

Agency Frame:When referring to agency frame I am talking about the domestic violence organization's success stories. The organization has had the grand opportunity to help lots of families in many ways whether minimal or immensely. 

 

"When I think about the Domestic Violence Center, the chance for our community to provide for place for women children in what has to be their darkest hour as they are experiencing domestic violence," said Lynne Ashbeck the Clovis Mayor. "For us to be able to provide a safe haven for them is really one that we do with great gratitude and great responsibility."

 

"As many as 1,500 people attend this annual event. This year the keynote speaker will be Denise Brown, sister of the late Nicole Brown Simpson. Since Brown Simpson, the wife of OJ Simpson, was murdered in 1994, Denise Simpson has made it her mission to educate the public about domestic violence."

 

Emotions are shown when victims come back to the center where they achieved and grew so much. In this next quote, it is talking about a young man who stayed at one of the centers. 

"you know it kind of has my heart racing a little bit walking to the room I came to for 52 weeks right here but after you left one of the group members wanted that chair because you were such a leader"

 

Conclusion 

Overall this paper focused on three major aspects ethnography, interview and content analysis. In each part I used theory concepts to analyze and expand on the data collected. With ethnography, I used observations as the data, with interview I used interviews as the data and with ethnography I used a combination of source ranging from social media to article and flyers. Throughout the paper I used Nvivo, Ncapture, Interview transcribing applications like temi and otter voice, along with other technologies that facilitated my data collection. I learned so much from the domestic violence organization. I learned how the organization interacts with the observations. I was able to obtain a personal look on the interactions that are done within the organization. With interviews, I was explained with their own words what their organization does and how they would like to be viewed within the community. Also with interviews I was explained thoroughly what the organization envisions. Using the sources in the content analysis part opened my eyes to how broad the organization is and how entangled it is within the community to bring awareness and try to stop domestic violence. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography 

 

Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice. 

 

"Durkheim's Methodological Rules" Pp.80-84 in Dillon

 

"Marx" History, Alienation, IdeologyandPower"Pp.60-69in Dillon

 

Marx's Theory of Alienation, Wikipedia

 

"The Nature and Significance of the Self" chapter 4 in Symbols Selves and Social Realityby Kent Sandstrom, Daniel Martin and Gary Alan Fine