Stopping the Cycle of Abuse Through Communal Effort

By Colleen Gundlach

When geese fly, their formation allows each individual member to be pulled along and uplifted by the drafts of air created by the bird flying in front. When a goose is sick or injured, other geese leave the formation to provide assistance. These simple facts of nature have prompted the Susan B. Anthony Project (SBAP) to adopt a gaggle of geese as its logo, and the communal caring of the geese as its philosophy.

Almost thirty years ago, a group of concerned citizens founded SBAP to supply crisis services to battered women. The organization has since widened its scope to help male and female victims of a wide range of abuses, including domestic violence, date violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Today, the agency, based in Torrington, serves twenty area towns and is part of a statewide coalition.

Norfolk resident Barbara Spiegel has been the Executive Director of SBAP for the past 17 years, leading a current staff of thirty, as well as numerous volunteers. Early on in the history of the agency, she served six years on its board of directors, before leaving to pursue her law career and raise a family.

By 1995, says Spiegel, “I was not excited about private practice. I was a lawyer looking for a cause.” She found that cause once again at SBAP, this time as its director. Her law degree gives her the background to assist the agency’s clients navigate the ins and outs of restraining orders and court appearances, while her master’s degree in counseling helps her understand them and advocate for them.

Although the Susan B. Anthony Project is probably best known for providing shelter for battered women and children, Spiegel stresses that its services go far beyond that. “We serve 2,000 people a year through SBAP,” she says, “and very few of them actually go to a shelter.”

A crisis line is open 24 hours a day, at 860-482-7133, with access to a trained counselor. “This line is available for everyone,” says Spiegel, “not just for the ‘running-for-my-life’ type of calls, but also for people who just need to talk or get information as well. We want victims of abuse to know they are not alone.” Men, women and children all use the crisis line, calls may be made anonymously, and all are free and confidential.

Support groups and individual counseling are also available at SBAP, for victims of emotional, physical, sexual and any other abuse. Spiegel says, “no one should be abused. If so, it is not the victim’s fault. We are here to provide the counseling and support. People who need us, find us.” She stresses again that all services provided by the organization are free and completely confidential. No insurance companies or clients are ever billed.

Spiegel is especially proud of the prevention program sponsored by SBAP, which provides educational services in local schools. “We talk to the very youngest kids about safe touch, to the middle kids about teasing and bullying and to the older kids about Internet safety,” she says. In addition, statistics show that boys who witness domestic abuse are more likely to repeat the abuse when they are grown. “We want to stop the cycle,” Spiegel says.

SBAP is a non-profit organization supported in large part by donations, fundraising and state and federal funds. To assist in the fundraising efforts, another Norfolk resident, Bella Erder, is holding a special benefit for the Susan B. Anthony Project at her shop, Aija, on May 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. Twenty percent of all sales during this pre-Mother’s Day event will be donated by Erder to SBAP. Aija is located on the second floor of the Royal Arcanum building on Station Place.

More information on the Susan B. Anthony Project, may be found on their Web site at sbaproject.org.