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‘Kickin It For A Cause’ Kickball Match is Oct. 5

Event to Raise Awareness of Domestic Violence

By Shelley Hanson - Staff Writer | Oct 3, 2024

(Photo by Shelley Hanson) The YWCA of Wheeling’s New Martinsville Office is hosting the Kicking It For A Cause Kickball Game at 2 p.m. Oct. 5 at Bruce Park.

Members of the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Department are slated to face off against a team of service providers and community members during the Kicking It For A Cause Kickball Game set for 2 p.m. Oct. 5 at Bruce Park.

The YWCA of Wheeling’s New Martinsville Office is organizing the event aimed at recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and raising awareness of the Y’s domestic violence prevention services.

Wetzel County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Eric Daugherty said his department was contacted by the Y to participate for the first time.

“We’re pretty excited to bring eyes on domestic violence,” Daugherty said, noting the county deals with its share of domestic violence calls. “I think with domestic violence in the nation it’s a problem everywhere.”

Daugherty is encouraging residents to come out and have fun watching the match. The sheriff’s department team will also include local EMTs.

In addition to the game, there will also be activities for children including games, toys, puppets and more. There will also be snacks and water available.

Cindy Powell, the Y’s outreach coordinator at the New Martinsville office, said one of the reasons she wanted to hold the event was to raise awareness of her office in New Martinsville. It is located inside the New Martinsville City Building.

Powell said her office helps both women and men who are dealing with domestic violence issues. She said her office also is there to help people develop a plan to leave a partner who has become violent.

“We’re here and unfortunately are pretty busy and we’d like to one day not be busy. But these services are a comfort to a lot of people,” she said.

Powell said her office handles about 150 cases of domestic violence each year. She noted that is about average for each county in the state. Her office has a court advocate as well, Peggy Loub. They also visit schools to teach teens about what healthy relationships look like.

“When a woman makes a decision to leave an abusive situation it can take 12 times or more for them to really and truly move on,” she said.

She said leaving can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Many times the abuser has been in control of their life and access to money.

“We sit down and talk to them and help in every way we can,” Powell said. “We try to empower them to help themselves.”

The most dangerous time is typically the first time, which is why Powell’s office helps people form a plan.

“We usually talk about that. Losing control is what it’s all about … the bottomline is him controlling and having power over a person he wants to manipulate,” she said. “When they know they’re losing control and power, it can really trigger them to escalate even more than usual.”

Powell said she refers to the women and men they help as survivors instead of victims to help empower them to help themselves.