Hiatus House continues to Shine the Light

During her experience working at a shelter for abused women, Eva Kravitochill never thought that one day she would be the one needing help.

A survivor and an organizer at the Hiatus House, Kravotochill, has used her negative experiences and turned them into positive ones by helping women and children who are victims of domestic violence stay in a safe and comfortable environment.

Since then Kravitiochill has worked at the Hiatus House for almost 20 years and was the 2018 Shine the Light Honorary.  

“There was that piece as well. How am I working in this field, doing this work and this is taking place to me,” said Kravitochill.

In 2018, 14 people, two men and 12 women, died in domestic violence cases in Ontario. In Canada, 2018 also saw an increase from the past eight years in domestic violence according to Statistics Canada.

Kravitochill said she hopes by working at the Hiatus House, she can inspire other women who have been in similar situations through her work.

“It’s not just my work, its my daily life and everything I do,” said Kravitochill. “I came to this position because I had a real interest in working with women who were victims of violence, having lived through such a situation myself and having to overcome and establish my life.”

At a young age Kravitochill was experiencing violence in her marriage. She said it’s easier to see the physical aspects of an abusive relationship but it’s more difficult to notice or acknowledge the psychological or emotional abuse.

“You make all sorts of justifications such as, their financially stressed, it’s a hard time or it’s been a bad day at work,” said Kravitochill. “All these different reasons and excuses because you want to believe this individual is a really great person. The reality of abusers is they are not monsters all the time because if they were you would not be with them in the first place.”          

An accomplishment she has done to help women in need in the community includes helping with the adoption of the Shine the Light Campaign in the community from the London Abused Women Centre. This campaign has given many women a voice and has spread awareness within Windsor for the past five years.  

The Hiatus House offers a helping hand in other ways as well. Whether it be in person or on the phone, the Hiatus House offers confidential intervention for families experiencing domestic violence, all day long, seven days a week.

The Hiatus House offers group therapy for abused women called the Fresh Start women’s program. The goal of this program is to accept responsibility for their physical and psychological safety.

Karry Plaskitt from the Hiatus House said their goal is to continue bring awareness to the cause all year round.

“We’re raising awareness and engaging the community and ending violence against women,” said Plaskitt.

Although the month of November is women’s abuse prevention month, the Hiatus House plan to continue to help people in need and push their initiative, spreading the word going into 2019.