The city of Donaldsonville hosted Saturday’s Holly Jolly Hope Fest to bring awareness to domestic violence with proceeds benefiting the Iris Domestic Violence Center.
The event, held at the Lemann Memorial Center, offered 20 shopping vendors, raffles, silent auctions, food and information about services the Iris Domestic Violence Center offers.
Iris Domestic Violence Center’s Executive Director Patti Joy Freeman, left, and Director of Client Services Kimberly Adams provide information about services offered to those affected by domestic violence during Saturday’s Holly Jolly Hope Fest in Donaldsonville.
“This is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and today’s proceeds, as well as donations collected, will go to the Iris Domestic Violence Center,” said Michele Ashby, Ascension Parish’s director of community and economic development. “Lots of people have come to help the center today as well as make people aware that domestic violence touches everybody.
“It is important to me, as a domestic violence survivor, to help. It is one of those secrets people do not really understand sometimes.”
The main goal of the event was to offer information about what services the Iris Domestic Violence Center offers to help those in abusive situations, said Patti Joy Freeman, executive director of the Iris Domestic Violence Center.
Paris & Paisley Boutique passes out bracelets, ribbons, and stickers to help raise awareness for domestic violence at Saturday’s Holly Jolly Hope Fest in Donaldsonville.
The center serves eight parishes in Louisiana with over a dozen shelters.
“We serve men and women equally and offer a 24-hour crisis line and assess families’ needs as well as their safety,” Freeman said.
Freeman understands the need for help for families in domestic violence situations. She worked for 28 years with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. She was part of child, elderly and sex crimes investigations. She is also a former member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The Iris Domestic Violence Center has recently expanded to include new amenities at the shelters including private rooms, playgrounds, whole wings devoted to children, art activities and serenity gardens.
“We have a bit of a different shelter model,” Freeman said. “We want to provide safety, but also joy, dignity and every person deserves all of these.
“There is nothing we won’t do for a survivor, and no one will get told Iris shelters are full. We partner with law enforcement to find families safe places to stay.”
The organization works closely with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services.
One of the vendors to participate in the event included Onetia Materre, owner of Missy O’s Accessories.
Materre, originally from Donaldsonville and a graduate of Southern University, drove from Houston for the event.
“I believe in the cause to stop the violence,” Materre said. “Domestic violence has been pushing the limits, and we need to do everything we can to stop it.
“I’m sure everybody knows somebody who has been abused and the cycle needs to be broken.”
Freeman said one upcoming additional service the organization will offer includes pets being allowed to stay with families receiving services.
“We’ve partnered with RedRover and are hoping to being offering this in January,” Freeman said.
RedRover is a national organization “helping to bring animals out of crisis and strengthen the bond between people and animals through emergency sheltering,” according to its website.
For more information about the services the Iris Domestic Violence Center, visit www.stopdv.org.
To contact the Iris Domestic Violence Center’s 24-Hour Crisis Line, call (225) 389-3001 or (800) 541-9706.