Services
Domestic Violence Services
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Our crisis line (770-386-8779) is answered by trained advocates 24-hours a day. Advocates are available to assist victims and their children in need of emergency shelter, discuss a safety plan, provide emotional support, legal options and offer resources. Anyone can call to talk to one of our crisis advocates about themselves, a friend, or a family member. Advocates can offer information about domestic violence and provide the caller with community resources.
Tranquility House emergency shelter provides a homelike location for families who have been victims of domestic violence, and 24-hour staff assistance. The shelter’s location is kept confidential. Shelter staff provide person centered support, food, shelter, transportation for the women and children residing there.
The shelter is the only Domestic Violence Shelter in Bartow County and is certified by the Governor’s Office of Families and Children. The goal of this program is to provide safe, temporary shelter for victims of Family Violence and Stalking and their children , while providing them with assistance and support to identify and achieve their personal and safety goals.
Our Children’s program provides trauma informed activities by utilizing games, yoga, dance, exercise, music and art. The advocate engages children in conversations about feelings, safety planning, expression and fun. Activities are developed to encourage children to talk about their feelings and give them a safe space. Through our children’s services by Tranquility House, community collaboration and our volunteers, the children in our program are healing from abuse and learning to model healthy relationships.
Legal Advocates are committed to helping victims understand their legal rights and available community resources, as well as how best to manage their personal safety. We offer non-judgmental support, education, and advocacy to victims of domestic violence throughout the legal process. While our legal advocates are not legal counsel, we are available to discuss immediate legal options with our clients, as well as a plan to address longer term legal needs such as divorce, custody, child support, and other legal issues.
Safety planning is at the heart of the work we do with all victims who have experienced abuse. Legal Advocates will discuss each client’s individual safety concerns, probe for lethality indicators, and inform the client of available resources and support. Tranquility House acknowledges the client is the best resource concerning safety. We offer one-on-one meetings to discuss victim needs, and are available to accompany victims to court through civil and criminal proceedings.
Our Legal Advocates are certified by the court to provide assistance in filing Temporary Protective Orders (TPOs). Deigned to limit the contact an abusive person is allowed to have with a victim, TPOs provide relief from the Court in the form of an emergency order. Legal Advocates also assist victims as they prepare their case for court. They are advocates with Law Enforcement and other community stakeholders to document abuse by developing a written description of abuse, take photographs of physical injuries, and can copy and/or hold physical documentation of abuse including audio or video recordings, medical records, text messages, emails, or social networking contacts.
Outreach services are available in Bartow County which allows victims to access services when they are not residents of the shelter. Outreach staff provides comprehensive case management designed to foster safety and promote self-sufficiency. Outreach staff also strives to educate the community on issues surrounding family violence by providing in-service training, educational presentations, and awareness programs. Other services include support group, referrals for individual counseling, legal advocacy including assistance with filing TPO’s, accompaniment to court, and filing of victim compensation, follow-up services, limited transportation assistance, education groups, and information and referral. Agency staff works closely and collaborates with other agencies to ensure that victims benefit from all available area services.
Tranquility House support groups aid women who have left violent relationships or continue to live with their abuser. These groups provide a safe place for survivors to come together and share experiences, offer encouragement, support and generate ideas on ways to live violence free.
Visit the Events page for more information on attending support groups. Click here to view or download the informational flyer.
Our agency provides services to the community at large on the issues of family violence. The Program provides family violence in-service training for other service agencies on family violence. In addition, community presentations are made to local church, civic and professional organizations and at health fairs. Training curricula are designed to meet the needs of other agencies and groups.
Our teen advocate offers a teen dating violence presentation and a healthy relationships curriculum to teens and young adults in our community.
Tranquility House Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program works with schools, youth-serving organizations and churches in Bartow county to reduce abuse among adolescents and to promote healthy relationships. Teen Dating Violence (TDV) is a growing epidemic within the teen community; one in five teens report verbal, physical, emotional or sexual abuse in their dating relationships. Our approach to ending teen dating violence is through outreach and prevention education. Tranquility House provides FREE prevention education programming to middle school, high school and college-age students.
Our prevention program includes:
Teen presentations to address the definition of TDV, the forms it can take, warning signs, barriers to leaving, and safe bystander intervention.
Program Series from our Healthy Relationships- Safe Dates curriculum – Program topics includes tools to a healthy relationship, gender roles, power and control, red flags, bystander intervention and safety planning. Tranquility House believes it’s critical to reach preteens and teens while they are still forming their attitudes about dating and relationships. With preventive education, patterns of abuse can be avoided before they become learned and ingrained. Teenagers can engage in healthier relationships when they learn to identify the early warning signs of an abusive relationship, understand that they have choices, and believe they are valuable people who deserve to be treated with respect.
Teen Support Group Meetings- Teen support groups offers interactive activities that focus on healthy/unhealthy relationships, boundaries/respect, red flags, peer pressure and expressing feelings.
Adult Educational Workshops – Educating parents and caregivers on information on warning signs also referred to as red flags and safety planning.
Safety Planning – Helping teens to develop a plan that is a practical personalized plan that can help avoid dangerous situations and prepare the best way to react when in danger.
Crisis Teen Text Line – A safe and confidential text line available 24-hour for teens to talk with a trained advocate
ABOUT 1 in 5 HIGH-SCHOOL GIRLS HAS BEEN PHYSICALLY OR SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY A DATING PARTNER.
1 in 3 teenagers report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked or physically hurt by their partner.
8 out of 10 girls who have been physically abused in their dating relationships continue to date their abusers.
Georgia has the third-highest percentage in the nation of high school students who have experienced 24-hour