October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. At the Sept. 25 City Council meeting, Mayor Bill Diak presented a Proclamation certificate to Dawn Pennepacker of Victim Witness Services (VWS) for Northern Arizona. She is the official victims' advocate for Page and the one Page police officers refer victims to.

Legal protections prevent accurate statistics for domestic violence, though a large percentage of arrests made by Page Police are for domestic violence. The June 2024 report, the last one received by the Chronicle, listed 35 domestic violence charges for the month. In April 2024, 27 charges were reported. The number of unreported cases of domestic abuse is anyone’s guess.

The police reports don’t necessarily account for all affected. “Just because you aren't the one getting hit doesn't mean that you're not experiencing abuse,” said Pennepacker. “If those kids are there, if they're frightened by screaming, those kids are also victims. So sometimes mom is the victim who got beat up, but those kids are also victims, and if there's four of them, that's five people.”

Helping victims of abuse is tricky and complicated, including working with the courts. “One of the things that we do is we follow court for victims. It's kind of a confusing process. It gets continued a lot. Things get changed. So that's one of the things that we help them do. A lot of times we'll just attend and let them know what went on, because otherwise they could spend weeks in court before getting anywhere.

“We can make statements that the victim has given us stating their feelings and their thoughts, but we don't ever testify,” said Pennepacker of court proceedings. “We're just the neutral party.”

While neutral as far as court testimonies, Pennepacker is a victim advocate and will help in any way she can. “Whatever they need, whether it's resources, whether it's somebody to hold their hand, a shoulder to cry on, court advocacy -- we set up interviews that they can do with the prosecutors, which a lot of them like, because, you know, sometimes people are arrested, you love them. You know that they're not bad people. They might have a mental health problem. We could set that up so that you can, as a victim, talk with the prosecutor and say, hey, here's what I'd like to see happen. It's not a guarantee because the State of Arizona is the one that takes over the case. But they do listen because they want to know what the victims think. You know that person better than they do.”

Connecting with Pennepacker and the services of VWS happens in a variety of ways. For example, they had an information table at the October 1 National Night Out event at John C Page Park. “Sometimes the I'll be out somewhere, and they will see me set up somewhere, see my name tag, and they will approach,” said Pennepacker. “Most of our referrals do come through the police, but they only refer them if the victim gives them permission to share the information. So, we never are contacting somebody that hasn't been made aware that there is something out there. I have people that come in and say, ‘I have a cousin or a sister, a neighbor. Could you reach out to them?’ So it comes a lot of different ways.”

Different situations require different solutions. The first priority is victim safety, and getting away from the home isn’t always the first step. “Some people don't necessarily want to leave,” said Pennepacker. “And honestly, sometimes leaving isn't safe because there are some people out there that are pretty controlling and pretty crazy. So, the victim will already kind of have an idea of whether it's safe to leave -- if they're ready to leave. It does take about seven times for them to actually leave and stay gone. That's the average nationally. But, if they say to me, ‘Look, I need to get out of this situation,’ we don't just get them a hotel and then do whatever. What we have to do is sit down and make a plan. We have to sit down and say, ‘OK, where are we going with this? Can we get you into a shelter? Can we get you into a program? Do you want to?’ We all know there's not much in Page. So it's ‘Let's find a program somewhere else that maybe can take you and your children. Do you have family that you could stay with?’ And so, we try and find the way that can be the best long-term way for them to be successful.

“I like to make sure that people know we don't work exclusively with the police. You don't have to notify the police if somebody is being abused and they want help; that is not a prerequisite. Come see me, call me, text me. Let's work out a safety plan if you want to stay. Of course, that's not my choice. You know, I'm always ‘get out,’ but you’ve got to make that call when you're ready to do it. But if you're going to stay, let's make safety plans. Let's find ways to make sure that you don't end up in a situation where you're hurt, where there's violence.”

VWS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, celebrates its 40th birthday Nov. 21. VWS has six offices on the Navajo Nation, one in Williams, one in Flagstaff and one in Page. “I'm covering Fredonia also, because they have stuff that comes up,” said Pennepacker. “We try to be everywhere and everything to whatever people need.”

To contact Pennepacker, call or text her at 928-660-9034. The main office in Flagstaff is available 24 hours a day at 928-856-7676.

The Page office is located at 5 S. Lake Powell Blvd., Suite 3, next to Stix Liquor & Sporting Goods (the old Chamber of Commerce offices). It’s best to text Pennepacker ahead of time before stopping by.