Sunday, March 24, 2002
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It began in 2000 as a call by more than 50 black women demanding that the city take action on behalf of 70 other black women who had been killed in a nine-year span.
It culminated last week with the addition of a social worker to the staff of the Youngstown Police Department. Rose Griffin will take on the task of helping women pull themselves out of the cycle of domestic violence.
"I'm hoping ... that I can work with the women and their families to access the services they need to help them turn around and put an end to domestic violence," Griffin said. "I'd also like to help the community understand what domestic violence is and what women and families go through."
New post: Griffin has taken the full-time post at the YPD Crisis Intervention Unit. Detective Sgt. Delphine Baldwin-Casey said the new, city civil-service position means that the unit doesn't have to rely on grant money to secure a social worker. It also means that the worker will be devoted to Youngstown, not contracted from an outside agency that also serves the rest of Mahoning County.
"I think this is probably one of the most valuable assets when trying to break the cycle of violence," said Casey, who oversees the unit. "If they [victims] leave here without social work, there's no guarantee they won't get back into that situation."
Casey said Griffin will network with other area social agencies to get Youngstown women the help they need from those agencies. Women might be referred to shelter care, counseling programs, food and clothing assistance, family services or substance abuse help.
She said Griffin also will give the women the social support they need, freeing up investigators to focus on the criminal aspects of cases. The unit, formed in 1996, now handles more than 3,000 complaints each year.
How it started: Work toward creating the position began in April 2000 when more than 50 black women attended a city council meeting to call on city officials to do something about violence against women.
They were responding to a report in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer that showed that 70 black women were slain in Youngstown between 1988 and 1997, the nation's highest per capita homicide rate for black women.
Two days later, Mayor George M. McKelvey asked his Task Force on Crime and Violence Prevention to create a new three-member task force to look into violence against women.
"The solution we came up with was that this unit needed a social worker," Casey said.
While murders in the city have plummeted in recent years, Casey said the new social worker will help keep those numbers down.
In 1999, two black women were homicide victims in the city. In both 2000 and 2001, three women, two black and one white, were killed.
Griffin was added to the staff last week. She will be paid about $25,000 per year plus benefits, Casey said.
Background: Griffin, a Struthers High school graduate, grew up in Youngstown, before spending several years in Warren. She said she looks forward to relocating to Youngstown.
She started her career in social work as a foster parent and case worker at the Trumbull County Children's Services Board. She also has worked for the SCOPE senior center's community outreach program and the Someplace Safe domestic violence shelter, both in Trumbull County.
Casey said the unit has been without a social worker since 1998 when grant money that paid for a worker was lost. She said victims have requested social workers since that time.
"It's made a difference, and victims noticed it," Casey said. "Without a social worker, a lot of victims missed out."
viviano@vindy.com