October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and this year marks a milestone for one of our community’s most vital partners: The Willow Domestic Violence Center is celebrating 50 years of service to survivors across Douglas, Franklin, and Jefferson counties. Domestic violence and the child welfare cases CASA volunteers advocate on are often deeply connected — research shows a significant overlap between homes with domestic violence and open DCF cases, and children who witness or experience abuse are at elevated risk of facing it again later in life.
The Willow’s work, from crisis intervention to youth education on healthy relationships, plays a real role in breaking that cycle. Our partners at The Willow wrote the following piece to mark this anniversary and share more about their history and how to get involved.
This year, The Willow is celebrating 50 years of service, making us Kansas’s first domestic violence agency. We started in 1976 as Women’s Transitional Care Services, founded by a group of students in KU’s School of Social Welfare program who recognized a need in our community and set out to meet it. What began as a small collective of women networking with local partners has grown into a full continuum of care for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking across Douglas, Franklin, and Jefferson counties.
That origin story is part of why community partnership is so central to how we work today. The Willow is just one tree in a forest. We could not do what we do without the many other Lawrence-area agencies that provide services such as housing stability and food security. Unstable housing and food insecurity don’t cause domestic violence, but they can escalate it: When people can’t get their basic needs met, things start to feel out of control, and domestic violence is fundamentally about power and control — a pattern of abusive and coercive behavior used by one person to gain or maintain control over an intimate partner, family member, or household member. Because of that, we rely on our community partners to help survivors find safety, healing, and hope.
Most people know us as a crisis line and emergency shelter, and that’s a big part of what we do. Our 24-Hour Hotline is staffed by advocates in our shelter around the clock. But our work goes further. We also provide Community-Based Advocacy, including court advocates and rural advocates; specialized advocacy for survivors of human trafficking in both our shelter and community programs; Havenreach, a dedicated house and program for youth aging out of foster care; and External Affairs, which brings education on domestic violence, human trafficking, and healthy relationships into schools, businesses, and community organizations.
That educational work matters especially for youth. Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) shows that what we experience before age 18 can shape our health and relationships well into adulthood. Witnessing or experiencing domestic violence as a child can start a cycle of abuse that’s difficult to break. The overlap with the child welfare system is significant: One recent study found that 51% of active DCF (Department for Children and Families) cases involved signs of domestic violence in the home, and youth in foster care face a meaningfully elevated risk of experiencing intimate partner violence themselves. That’s part of why The Willow works to reach young people early, teaching them about feelings, boundaries, and resiliency before crisis hits — and why this work is so relevant to CASA’s mission of advocating for children in the system.
Upcoming Event · October 22, 2026
Behind the Rage: Inside America’s Domestic Violence
A Special Screening & Panel Event for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
In the U.S., one in four women experiences domestic abuse, and most female homicide victims are killed by a current or former partner. Join The Willow for a screening of Behind the Rage: Inside America’s Domestic Violence, from Peabody-, BAFTA-, and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Deeyah Khan, who explores whether it’s possible to reduce endemic male violence by amplifying a voice rarely heard in these conversations: perpetrators themselves.
A live panel follows the screening, featuring Steve and Dorthy Halley of the Family Peace Initiative (FPI), an expert in domestic violence and sexual assault, and an FPI program graduate who now facilitates classes. FPI’s work to end family violence through compassion, respect, and targeted intervention is prominently featured in the film.
If you or someone you know needs support, The Willow’s 24-Hour Hotline is available at 785-843-3333, or visit www.willowdvcenter.org.
