Just Response: Advocating for survivors, children and families

Domestic violence, also often referred to as intimate partner violence, can be difficult to address and has lasting effects on individuals, families and communities. Missoula County's Just Response program, made up of mental and medical health professionals, law enforcement, advocacy groups, child protection and criminal justice organizations, works to respond to DV cases and increase overall community safety. 

The commissioners recently sat down with Erin Shreder, Just Response coordinator, to discuss the tangible results of this inter-agency collective, the upstream causes of domestic violence and more.  

This episode deals with difficult topics like relationship and domestic violence. The Crime Victim Advocate Division of Missoula County is here to help you. Please call 406-258-3830 or visit their office at 317 Woody Street. YWCA Missoula is another resource and their crisis line is 1-800-483-7858.

Related links and resources:

• Strangulation Protocol
• First Step Resource Center
• All Nations Health Center
• University of Montana Student Advocacy Resource Center
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

Thank you to Missoula's Community Media Resource for podcast recording support!

Transcript

Josh Slotnick: [00:00:10] Welcome back, everybody, to the agenda with the Missoula County Commissioners. I'm Josh Slotnick and I'm here with my fellow commissioners and friends, Dave Strohmaier and Juanita Vero. This episode we are going to touch on some difficult topics relationship and sexual violence. The Crime Victim Advocate Division of Missoula County can help with these issues. If you need to call them, you certainly can at 406 2583830 or visit their office at 317 Woody Street. The YWCA of Missoula is also another resource, and their crisis line is (800) 483-7858. Our guest today is Erin Shreder, the Just Response coordinator in the Community Justice Department. So thanks a lot for joining us, Erin

Erin Shreder: [00:00:50] Thanks for having me.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:00:51] I guess to break the ice here. Erin, what is the Just Response program?

Erin Shreder: [00:00:56] Sure. So I coordinate just response. Just Response is part of the county structure. It's part of the community Justice Department. And my focus is on victim services, mainly with domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking and child abuse. So I basically coordinate all the partners that work on that within the criminal justice system, but then also in the community that are working on these issues as well. And a lot of my meetings and work is on projects to strengthen our response to victims of these crimes.

Juanita Vero: [00:01:27] So are there Just response programs throughout the state, or is this like a nationwide thing, or is this only in Missoula County?

Erin Shreder: [00:01:34] There are certainly it's called multidisciplinary teams. So yes, this structure is I would say nationwide. We just call it just response. It was part of, I believe, a grant years ago. And the name has just kind of stuck. But really I'm a coordinator within the community Justice Department.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:01:50] So just out of curiosity, Erin, uh, we sometimes like to ask our guests, how did you end up in the line of work that you are? Because this is not the typical sort of thing you hear, folks, I'm going to go to college and study to do this. So how did you how did you end up where you are?

Erin Shreder: [00:02:06] Yeah. So I originally went to University of Wyoming for nursing school. I did not get the best grades. So then I took some time off. I traveled a bit to Australia and whatnot. Then I came back here and I went to the University of Montana, and my parents had said, you can take the time off, but you need to finish in four years when you come back. So at the university, they were like, you have two tracks to finish in four years. You can do teaching or social work. So I went with social work. So then I became a social worker. I went to the school here, I loved it, and then I actually took some time off from social work and worked in banking. I did mortgage mortgages, and I realized that helping people make money that are already rich wasn't my... Don't put that in.

Juanita Vero: [00:02:50] But no, actually,

Josh Slotnick: [00:02:52] I think you should totally put that.

Erin Shreder: [00:02:54] I don't know. So good. Yeah, it...just wasn't my calling to help rich people get richer. So I.

Josh Slotnick: [00:02:59] Around in 08-09 in the mortgage world 

Erin Shreder: [00:03:01] I was. So I came in right after.

Josh Slotnick: [00:03:03] Exciting day.

Juanita Vero: [00:03:04] After. Yes. Do you keep a journal?

Erin Shreder: [00:03:05] Well, I. didn't really know what I was doing, but it was really hard because of all the new protocols they put.

Josh Slotnick: [00:03:11] After that, the only people who could get, who could get a loan or people who didn't need a loan.

Erin Shreder: [00:03:15] Totally. Absolutely. Yeah. And yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:03:18] What an amazing time.

Erin Shreder: [00:03:18] Yeah. It was. So I did that for about a year, and then the Crime Victim Advocate office was opening a position, and I had some friends that had worked for that department, and the benefits were really great. And way to go, Missoula County. Yeah, honestly. And so and I really wanted to get back into social work.

Juanita Vero: [00:03:36] So but what about, okay, that that conversation with your friends made you curious or think that I want to get back in this kind of messy, yeah, Sisyphean sort of. Yeah. Field.

Erin Shreder: [00:03:48] So another job I did was I worked for a criminal defense attorney just doing secretarial work. But I really liked law and understanding it. But I didn't ever want to become an attorney or actually practice law. And so when the crime victim advocate position opened, it was as a criminal advocate. So working with law enforcement and then city attorneys and county attorneys and being able to really work with a lot of different professions, but then advocate for people who needed help. It was like a dream job.

Josh Slotnick: [00:04:18] Was it hard to adjust to hearing such painful things on a regular basis? Yeah, yes. How do you do that?

Erin Shreder: [00:04:25] So I was an advocate for seven years, and then I had my son, and when I came back to work, I couldn't do criminal advocacy anymore. So I moved to civil advocacy, which is what's the difference. So criminal advocacy is helping people who have filed a report with law enforcement. Their case is getting investigated, getting charged, going through that court system. Civil legal advocacy is working with orders of protection mainly. So it's it's still part of the legal system. But you don't have law enforcement usually involved. It's a much quicker process.

Josh Slotnick: [00:04:57] Can you explain what an order of protection is? Sure.

Erin Shreder: [00:04:59] When you feel like you need you, you don't want someone to be contacting you anymore.

Juanita Vero: [00:05:04] So what's the difference between an order of protection and restraining order?

Erin Shreder: [00:05:07] They're the same thing. Oh, okay. Yeah. So. But. There are statutes you need to make. Like you can't just get one because you don't like someone. Like you need to be in fear for your safety. You need to be in fear of bodily harm, and someone has been continually causing harm to you. So you have to kind of show this repeated behavior so you can come to the crime victim advocate office and get a temporary order of protection. You fill out the form, then you take it to, depending on your jurisdiction and what's going on in your case, you either take it to city court, justice court, or the district court, and then you have a hearing within two weeks in front of a judge. And that judge can then determine if they'll extend this order to make it an order of protection or deny it. And then the there's no more order of protection.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:05:51] I bet, though, two weeks could seem like an eternity.

Josh Slotnick: [00:05:53] Oh my goodness, I.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:05:55] Might be in a situation. Yeah.

Josh Slotnick: [00:05:57] Yeah, I was just thinking exactly the same thing. As Dave said, it could be two weeks too long.

Erin Shreder: [00:06:01] Well, so you would have a temporary order, so that would. So if the judge grants the temporary order, you have the order and then there's a hearing. Oh, so.

Josh Slotnick: [00:06:09] In that two weeks you could be safe.

Juanita Vero: [00:06:10] So. Well wait. So from the time you go to your office or whoever's at 317, Woody, you can receive a temporary order that day. Or how does that work?

Erin Shreder: [00:06:20] Well, in a perfect world, yes, if you needed it. But there are holidays. There are court hours. I do think our courts really try hard to make that decision quickly and and get it back.

Josh Slotnick: [00:06:31] People need to learn to schedule their emergencies. That's terrible.

Erin Shreder: [00:06:35] So. But then it needs to be served on that person. So then the sheriffs are serving this temporary order or or the permanent order.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:06:43] So I bet in your line of work you engage with a lot of community partners. Yes. For instance, YWCA maybe being one. Could you maybe talk a little bit about whether it's Dwai or other partners, what that relationship looks like?

Erin Shreder: [00:06:57] Yeah, the YWCA and Missoula County work very closely together on a number of different things. One, the YWCA is the hotline you would call at 24 seven, but then they also help us. We work together on grants. They sit on a lot of the boards I run. So one of them is the Domestic Violence Task Force. They have two people from their agency that sit with us. So we're always working together on issues that we're seeing in domestic violence and sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking. In Missoula in October, for example, we did the Silent Witness displays, which were the red silhouette cutouts we made for new ones for victims that have died of domestic violence in our town since 2015. And so then we set them up around the community, and then we work with all nations, mainly on human trafficking issues. They have a grant called and this.

Juanita Vero: [00:07:48] Is All Nations Health Center for folks. Oh yeah. Sorry.

Erin Shreder: [00:07:52] Yeah. And they have a project Beacon, which is a human trafficking grant that is pretty competitive. And there's only five in the nation. And they were they have one. So what does.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:08:02] It look like to be working together with them on that project?

Erin Shreder: [00:08:05] It's great to actually you meet, you get together and you discuss ways we can strengthen our relationships not only with them, but like, how do we help our indigenous people in Missoula?

Dave Strohmaier: [00:08:17] So are you getting like folks who just walking into your office and referring them to all nations or vice versa?

Erin Shreder: [00:08:23] Sure. Yeah. So all nations like especially like the medical care with the human trafficking and Project Beacon, they have more resources for housing and really the cultural lens. So smudging having elders help them through the process. We did apply for a grant last year that we did not get, which was going to be able to pay some elders to help younger Native Americans throughout this process of domestic violence, sexual assault.

Josh Slotnick: [00:08:47] So outside of Project Beacon, how does the county support victims of crime, specifically people who've survived domestic or intimate partner assault?

Erin Shreder: [00:08:55] Missoula County has a lot of ways we help survivors. So the sheriff's department, the county attorney's, law enforcement, city police department, and because they handle felony cases that would then go to the county attorney's. So I feel like we're always actively.

Josh Slotnick: [00:09:09] So those entities you just named, I think the conventional wisdom is those folks catch and prosecute bad guys. So how do you support victims?

Erin Shreder: [00:09:18] So in sexual assault cases, if a survivor wants a case prosecuted or they don't, the county attorney's will listen to them.

Juanita Vero: [00:09:24] So if you so say that again. So if you don't want your case to be prosecuted, you can still work with the county attorney's office.

Josh Slotnick: [00:09:33] What is a CVA do?

Erin Shreder: [00:09:34] Crime victim advocate? Yes. So a crime victim advocates job is to advocate for what a victim wants. So that can be a variety of things. That could be you just want resources and you want to get a sex assault exam done because you were assaulted and raped. And you want a safe place to sleep that night and you don't want anything else. Then you have survivors who want their partner held accountable and they want a criminal prosecution. But really, an advocate's job is to make sure that a survivor's voice is being heard throughout the process. So with law enforcement, with prosecution. With if there is a conviction getting your voice heard.

Josh Slotnick: [00:10:12] So the crime victim advocate can literally accompany a survivor of this type of assault as they work with law enforcement.

Erin Shreder: [00:10:19] Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:10:21] So that can be a challenging balancing act. Yeah. So I guess tell a story or say more about that because having to you're working with the victim who may or may not be comfortable with law enforcement.

Josh Slotnick: [00:10:34] And is law enforcement comfortable having an advocate in their midst?

Erin Shreder: [00:10:37] In the beginning it was a a delicate balance. But I do think in the end it worked amazing.

Josh Slotnick: [00:10:45] Yeah. Tell a story.

Erin Shreder: [00:10:46] So okay, let me think of a story. Yeah I'll probably mix a couple okay. So so usually how it would work when I was an advocate was I would either get a call from a detective. So an SVU detective, I was based in the police department. I didn't work in the sheriff's department. So let's say a call comes in to the police department. What would happen is an officer would go out, they get a call, there's a sexual assault, they would respond first, they would get the initial intake, and then that survivor, if they wanted, could go get a sexual assault exam. And then the next day, actually, we usually gave them two sleep cycles depending. Sometimes they wanted to come in as soon as they could.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:11:22] This is all before the crime victim advocate becomes involved.

Erin Shreder: [00:11:27] Yes. Okay. Yep. Although they have an advocate at first step. So during the sexual assault exam to just make sure that their needs are being met right then. So then like the next day, I would call the survivor and offer resources and explain options they had. And if they wanted to move forward with a law enforcement interview, I could set that up. I could be there for them. I could basically walk them through the process for the next six months to a year, depending on how long.

Josh Slotnick: [00:11:54] That's amazing, because the logistics involved in doing all that could be really overwhelming for anyone whose life isn't inside that system. And then you add the trauma of the assault on top of it. And I can't imagine anybody navigating that system very well. Yeah, really. See the need for your work.

Juanita Vero: [00:12:08] Yeah. Talk about caseload. Like how many victims does a CVA manage?

Erin Shreder: [00:12:12] I think their numbers range from victim survivor.

Juanita Vero: [00:12:16] I don't know what's the right word.

Erin Shreder: [00:12:18] You can use either. Okay, I say survivor. Yeah. But I do think in criminal justice land we do say victim. There's like a victim a defendant, a person that that causes harm is the more appropriate word. But so then someone comes in, they're like, okay, I want to do a law enforcement interview. So then that starts the whole journey of the law enforcement investigation. And then sometimes, you know, there's a couple interviews, then the detectives going out and interviewing eye witnesses, the defendant or the perpetrator, the person who caused harm. That can take a long time, 3 to 6 months trying to get text messages and any kind of discovery, basically. And then it would go to the county attorney's. They would make a decision on if they were going to charge it or not. If they did charge it, then that starts the legal process.

Juanita Vero: [00:13:06] Again, like caseload, how many how many folks are you managing?.

Erin Shreder: [00:13:09] I would say on average I had about 30 cases going at a time. Wow.

Juanita Vero: [00:13:13] My gosh.

Josh Slotnick: [00:13:14] That seems like too much.

Erin Shreder: [00:13:15] Yeah.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:13:16] In the many years that you've been working in this space, what sort of trends have you seen, if any?

Erin Shreder: [00:13:23] I think we've seen a huge increase in Strangulations not only though in now that we are what is.

Juanita Vero: [00:13:30] Yeah. What does strangulation mean?

Erin Shreder: [00:13:31] So strangulation is any time someone is impeding your airway. So that's either using your hand or body part like elbow you know ligature.

Josh Slotnick: [00:13:41] Ligature? What does that mean?

Erin Shreder: [00:13:42] So like a belt or a string.

Juanita Vero: [00:13:45] Hoodie string.

Erin Shreder: [00:13:46] Yeah. Or sitting on your chest.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:13:48] So do you think this is an increased reporting or actual increased incidence of this or both.

Erin Shreder: [00:13:55] Yeah. No. So in 2021, Detective Nate Greasy with the police department, who I work closely with, he and several other people with the county and first up decided to make a strangulation protocol. It was groundbreaking. It was amazing.

Juanita Vero: [00:14:10] And again, this is strangulation protocol. Just as for Missoula County. Well, essentially, like if you took a Ravalli County, what happens.

Erin Shreder: [00:14:18] So yeah. So everyone here in Missoula County EMS fire, rural fire, I believe both EDS Community Medical Center and Saint Pat's, and then all of the criminal justice system partners have been trained on this protocol. So if a survivor calls 911 and says at any time I couldn't breathe, they will send someone to do a strangulation exam. Yeah. Assessment. I believe strangulation has always been happening. I don't think we realized how absolutely dangerous it can be if you are strangled. Your risk of lethality in a homicide from domestic violence goes up. I think it's like 750%. 

Josh Slotnick: [00:14:57] Oh my Gosh.

Erin Shreder: [00:14:58] Yeah.

Josh Slotnick: [00:14:58] Could be, fgrom what Dave was asking, the existence of this protocol has allowed us to see strangulation, where maybe we weren't seeing it before?

Erin Shreder: [00:15:05] Absolutely.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:06] So tell us the difference between choking and strangling.

Erin Shreder: [00:15:08] So choking is when something is in your windpipe. So you eat a starburst sandwich or a hot dog. Yes, you are choking. You are strangled when something other than you is impeding your airway.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:21] But just the vernacular, though, is choking. But the reality, the true.

Josh Slotnick: [00:15:26] And because the detective created a protocol, now there's an official definition, and it sounds like an official set of steps of things to do.

Erin Shreder: [00:15:33] Exactly.Yep.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:34] So, uh, yeah, I mean.

Josh Slotnick: [00:15:37] All right, can I go do a different jump to another thing?

Juanita Vero: [00:15:40] Well, we're not we're done with strangulation.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:15:42] You were wanting to talk about consensual.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:44] Well, not well, we can't, we can. We probably can't. But that is an issue though. It is an issue. It is such a huge issue. And and especially now with like whatever and people's way of thinking, like sex is supposed to happen. I mean, and how do we share that with this sort of. Yeah, strangulation or play or whatever is so dangerous.

Erin Shreder: [00:16:06] Yeah. I think it's having communication with our children and the people in our lives that we can trust and talk to about this. I tell my son constantly, he's six. We never put anything on people's heads or necks, ever. But then I was watching trolls and they strangle somebody with their hair. It got me all fired up. So I think it is. It's just being really aware of your surroundings and having these communications with your family and your friends.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:16:32] I think that's a good reminder that so much of what you may deal with is in response to and after the fact. But there's stories, there's a context that each of these acts of violence occurs within. And from an educational standpoint, whether it's talking to our kids or maybe other ways of communicating with a community, what are the opportunities to maybe get farther upstream and helping cut off at the pass some of these problems before they arise?

Josh Slotnick: [00:17:01] I want to follow on this. Are there commonalities such that we can look at those commonalities and then go out into the world and see where where we see these things. We need to take some action so we don't end up dealing with having to deal with someone who's been assaulted.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:17:14] And like social determinants of health.

Josh Slotnick: [00:17:16] Yeah. Are there are there social are there pre pre determinants of this type of assault.

Erin Shreder: [00:17:21] Yeah. So have you ever heard of adverse childhood experiences. Yes. Yes. So making sure that we are supporting families from the very beginning from the time a baby goes home and we are supporting their parents to making sure childcare is available. Reasonable cost childcare is a huge one. Preschool education for for kids that are then around other kids in their families are getting support. One of the things Missoula County absolutely is lacking is affordable housing for people leaving domestic violence situations. Recently, my office has been doing stakeholder interviews with really everyone involved with just response. And the number one need we continually hear is affordable, accessible housing for survivors.

Josh Slotnick: [00:18:07] So we got to start, start young.

Erin Shreder: [00:18:10] Yes, I do believe that.

Josh Slotnick: [00:18:12] Supporting families so those kids grow up healthy and never don't find themselves in these situations.

Erin Shreder: [00:18:16] Prevention in schools showing people what healthy relationships look like starts. I think from the moment you're born, really.

Juanita Vero: [00:18:24] It reminds me of a quote that I just saw from Grace Decker, 0 to 5 with the United Way. And she says, growing up with parents who can regulate their own emotions as a less talked about form of generational wealth. And that's great. That struck me.

Josh Slotnick: [00:18:39] That is a great quote.

Erin Shreder: [00:18:40] And like healing and repair. I mean, everyone has disagreements and arguments, but showing how to do that respectfully, how to know when you're getting so upset that you need to take yourself out of the situation instead of exacerbating it. One of the projects I run is family violence intervention and Educational Session. You all should come. We talk about taking a time out that when you're getting so upset, you're no longer able to really function and and have a meaningful conversation. You just remove yourself and you tell your partner, I'm going to take a time out can be a code word, you know? But the other end of that is you go do something healthy. You don't go to the bar. You don't. You don't call your buddy and complain about your partner. You go on a walk. You take the dog somewhere.

Juanita Vero: [00:19:23] So are there things that we could be doing differently to help prevent this in the first place? I mean, over the course of time that you've been in this work, have strategies changed?

Erin Shreder: [00:19:34] I think that we are much more aware of how trauma affects people and how it can, especially in the criminal justice system. Stories change, people's stories evolve. You know? And for a long time, we thought that they were then lying or their story didn't match up. But we've learned, like with trauma, you can't tell a story from A to Z. You know, you're going to start at maybe K and go to A, and then you're going to go to W. And I think all of those things have helped us become more aware of what survivors are going through and how to help them through the process.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:20:07] Is there anything that. We, uh, have not talked about that. Do you like to talk about.

Erin Shreder: [00:20:11] Oh, there's lots. I know some of you have heard of us. Talk about the Family Justice Center. We really would like to start that.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:20:20] Tell us what that might mean. Yeah.

Josh Slotnick: [00:20:21] So this is an aspiration?

Erin Shreder: [00:20:23] This is an aspiration, absolutely.

Josh Slotnick: [00:20:24] We'll sketch it out.

Erin Shreder: [00:20:25] So a family justice center is kind of a one stop shop for someone who is either in the criminal justice system or just wants resources and all the services right there.

Josh Slotnick: [00:20:36] So in the justice system, they could be accused of having committed a crime, or they could be the victims of a crime.

Erin Shreder: [00:20:42] Yes. So I believe North Dakota has that model. Anyone, anyone, anyone who is involved in the criminal justice system, there are different wings and doors and whatnot.

Juanita Vero: [00:20:53] Oh, their Cres Campus. Right. Is that...?

Josh Slotnick: [00:20:55] That's in South Dakota.

Erin Shreder: [00:20:56] Oh, South Dakota,

Josh Slotnick: [00:20:57] That's In South Dakota. So is.

Juanita Vero: [00:20:57] There something different in North Dakota 

Josh Slotnick: [00:20:59] I don't know.

Erin Shreder: [00:20:59] Oh, no. Okay, I don't know my Dakotas.

Juanita Vero: [00:21:01] Okay. But the Cares campus in that's.

Josh Slotnick: [00:21:04] In South Dakota.

Erin Shreder: [00:21:04] Yes. 

Juanita Vero: [00:21:05] Where South Dakota?

Erin Shreder: [00:21:06] Is it in Rapid City?

Juanita Vero: [00:21:08] Yes. Yes. Pennington. Pennington. Yeah.

Erin Shreder: [00:21:10] And then there's other models like San Diego, which is where I've been to trainings. And we're pretty tight in with the Alliance for Hope agency, where you have a survivor come and they walk through your doors and they can have all their needs met. They can meet with the detective, they can meet with the prosecutor, they can get a rape exam, they can do counseling, they can go shopping for some new clothes because they've left their home and they don't have anything. There's a food pantry. You know, the best way I think you can sum this up is think of it as like you have your kid with you, you've just been assaulted. You have to go meet with a law enforcement officer. And then after that, you need to get on the bus and you need to go to the YWCA to see if they have shelter. And then you have to get on the bus again, and you have to come down here to meet with the county attorney. I mean, these are so many stops that we could do away with, and we could just make it, you know, we're right here by the bus depot, one stop shop.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:22:03] Thanks for sharing.

Juanita Vero: [00:22:04] Yeah, I was...

Josh Slotnick: [00:22:06] It's a great vision.

Juanita Vero: [00:22:06] Birthday party a month or so ago. She, um. I was with vice president of Hyatt, uh, their their spa and, you know, care facilities. And she was wondering about training for barbers, estheticians, hair salons, you know, to see signs and identify signs of strangulation or domestic violence. That's amazing. And wanting to know where you could get training. And there's actually programs at YWCA, which I didn't know.

Erin Shreder: [00:22:37] Twice a year.

Juanita Vero: [00:22:37] Yeah, yeah, way to go.

Erin Shreder: [00:22:38] Yeah. That's great. A lot of times people talk about human trafficking with that stuff, which is absolutely important as well. But domestic violence is everywhere.

Josh Slotnick: [00:22:46] Yeah.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:22:47] Well, Erin, before we wrap up, one final question for you that we try to ask most of our guests and it is wide open. Is there any nugget of wisdom, a good book, a piece of music, uh, podcast, anything, anything that has moved you that you'd like to share any.

Josh Slotnick: [00:23:06] Slice of culture?

Erin Shreder: [00:23:07] Well, I am actually reading Kaikeyi, which is a book about. It's about a famous queen in the Indian epic Ramayana. It's really good.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:23:16] Okay

Erin Shreder: [00:23:17] It's like, it's like Maleficent. You know how she was...

Juanita Vero: [00:23:21] Misunderstood?

Erin Shreder: [00:23:21] Yes, yes. And this is this, like.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:23] Grendel's mother.

Erin Shreder: [00:23:24] The Hindu.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:25] Yeah.

Erin Shreder: [00:23:26] Hinduism of that.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:27] Oh, fantastic.

Erin Shreder: [00:23:28] It's very good. It's for my book club.

Josh Slotnick: [00:23:30] Nice. Yeah. Good job book club.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:31] What's it called again? Kaikeyi? how do you spell that?

Erin Shreder: [00:23:34] K-a-i-k-e-y-i.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:37] Oh, so if someone listening to this, uh, wants to seek help for themselves or someone they love, what resources do you recommend?

Erin Shreder: [00:23:45] Here in Missoula? I would recommend the YWCA. It's 24 seven. They have a hotline you can call if you need help, or if you have a friend or family member that you just have questions.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:54] And what's that number again?

Dave Strohmaier: [00:23:55] 1-800-483-7858.

Erin Shreder: [00:24:00] Yeah. And then there's the CVA and SARC. SARC is the university resource. And then online I would recommend the National Domestic Violence Hotline and then the National Sexual Assault Hotline. And those can be in the notes. And then 988 here in Missoula.

Juanita Vero: [00:24:14] All right. 998 of course I forgot about that. Okay.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:16] Thanks a lot for coming in.

Juanita Vero: [00:24:18] Yeah. Thanks, Erin.

Erin Shreder: [00:24:18] Thanks for having me.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:24:19] You bet.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:20] Thanks for listening to the agenda. If you enjoy these conversations, it would mean a lot. If you rate and review the show on whichever podcast app you use.

Juanita Vero: [00:24:28] And if you know a friend who would like to keep up with what's happening in local government, be sure to recommend this podcast to them.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:24:34] The agenda with the Missoula County Commissioners is made possible with support from Missoula Community Access Television, better known as mCAT, and our staff in the Missoula County Communications Division.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:46] If you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, email it to communications@missoulacounty.us.

Juanita Vero: [00:24:53] To find out other ways to stay up to date with what's happening in Missoula County, go to Missoula.co/countyupdates.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:25:01] Thanks for listening.