This research will focus on how a non-profit corporation, dedicated to non-violence and to helping victims of domestic violence, and an individual, trying to aid his family during illness and death, use decision-making, communication processes, leadership and social influence, and conflicts in promoting their goals.
Stop Abusive Family Environments, Inc. (S.A.F.E., Inc.) is a non-profit, non-stock corporation founded in 1981 to aid victims of domestic violence and abuse within the family. These victims may include spouses, children, the elderly, or any others who have lived in or have been closely associated with the household.
S.A.F.E. has not only provided aid to domestic victims but has also taken a leadership role in educating the public about the existence of family violence and its underlying causes. The organization has used its influence to work for social change by speaking to church groups, school groups, and other organizations.
S.A.F.E. has been very effective in using local communication channels to promote its goals. For example, members of S.A.F.E. have also appeared on television and radio shows to discuss family problems and legal remedies for victims of domestic violence.
In its first few months, S.A.F.E. was envisioned as a future shelter, and plans were made to train advocates to help domestic violence victims find their way through the complicated and intimidating justice system. By 1984, however, with its members having realized their dream of a walk-in office with a telephone and volunteers where domestic could go for help, S.A.F.E. now included in its services the capacity to help clients file domestic violence petitions for protection from abuse, attend court hearings for advocacy and support, transport clients to and from the Women's Resource Center in Beckley, and refer them to a lawyer if legal help was needed.
One of the reasons S.A.F.E. has been able to branch out in these directions...