A Safe Haven for All at Amity House

Glynn Community Crisis Center Executive Director Dottie Bromley met two kindred spirits earlier this year when she attended a training on how domestic violence and other shelters can better assist pets of people in crisis. While at a session of the Don’t Forget the Pets program, Bromley met Katie Campbell and Bryna Donnelly and, in the process, hatched an ambitious plan to make the Glynn Community Crisis Center pet friendly by her next birthday. Donnelly is the director of Greater Good Charities’ Rescue Rebuild program and works regularly with Campbell, director of collaboration and outreach for RedRover, to provide services for pets of people in crisis. That can be anything from helping to pay for dog boarding for a homeless person to outfitting a domestic violence shelter so that survivors escaping dangerous situation can bring their pets. “We said, ‘Wow, OK. We have to be a part of this project,’” shares Donnelly.

Glynn Community Crisis Center since 1983 has offered a full slate of services to help victims of domestic violence escape. Amity House, for example, provides a safe, confidential place to escape potentially life-threatening situations, cycles of abuse that too often go on for years before victims seek help. There is also the 24-hour Crisis Line, which is always attended by someone ready to provide advice, assist with safety planning, or to provide a listening ear. Community outreach programs and prevention education are ongoing and GCCC operates a housing assistance program that includes Hope House, a transitional living program designed for clients who are facing housing barriers. Even with all the services GCCC provides, survivors have not been able to bring their pets with them to Amity House. The shelter simply wasn’t equipped to handle animals. And, sadly, Bromley knows all too well that for some people, leaving an abuser is not an option if they can’t bring their pets with them. “We know there are victims who will not leave because they will not leave their pets behind,” she stated. “Just like children, abusers will use pets to control a victim.”

In lieu of housing pets, Amity House partnered with Ahimsa House, an Atlanta nonprofit that finds foster homes and care for pets of sheltered victims. When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the shelter to begin using hotels to house some victims, it became clear Amity House needed to become pet friendly. The hotels allowed pets with a pet deposit, so GCCC covered the pet deposits and put victims who had pets there. “It made it really clear that this was a genuine need,” Bromley said.

That need is not limited to Glynn County. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 71 percent of women in domestic violence shelters report their abuser threatened, injured, or killed a pet as a means of control. Studies suggest nearly half of victims stay in abusive situations rather leave their pets behind, and the NCADV estimates 52 percent of survivors in shelters leave pets with abusers. As many as 25 percent of survivors will return because the abuser is using their pet get them back, according to the ASPCA. If Amity House can house pets for victims, hopefully more people will decide to get out of bad situations. Bromley explained,“It’s a way to encourage more people to leave when they need to.”

RedRover began its Responders Program in 1987 to train volunteers on how to handle pets in crisis. Since then, the program has provided 151 Safe-Housing Grants worth $1.7 million since 2012, Campbell said. Altogether, Glynn Community Crisis Center will get $60,000 from RedRover and $60,000 from Greater Good Charities’ Rescue Rebuild program to complete the project. “We will also be supporting the project by sending a team of RedRover Responders to help,” Campbell said. Donnelly explained that Rescue Rebuild essentially acts as the general contractor for the project. At Amity House, a dog retreat and a catty shack will be installed along with a play yard and two dog doors to allow access to living areas. The catty shack has cat enrichment items to keep cats mentally happy and healthy and visitation space to maintain the pet-owner bond. The dog retreats have four to six kennels set up as what Donnelly calls “living rooms” with visitation space and individual pet relief areas. Each visitation space is furnished with air conditioning, a sofa, a blanket, and a television. Everything you need to snuggle, Donnelly said. The doggy play yard will be adjacent to the dog retreat building. “An exercised dog is a happy dog,” Donnelly said.

Adding to the pet-friendly initiative is Ahimsa House. Ahimsa (which means "nonviolence" in Sanskrit) House is dedicated to helping the human and animal survivors of domestic violence reach safety together. “Many of the shelters in Georgia do not have onsite accommodations for pets,” said Myra Rasnick, executive director of Ahimsa House. “So, we assist in supporting foster care or boarding of those pets while their owners are going into shelters.” Ahimsa House will work with staff members at Amity House to train and prepare them for having animals staying at the shelter while continuing to assist with any clients who aren’t able to bring their pets to the shelter. “We want to ease any concerns Amity House staff may have about having pets on site,” Rasnick said.

Rasnick, Donnelly, and Campbell all said Bromley’s love for animals is infectious and that her leadership in this effort has been instrumental in seeing it come together. Construction of the project is expected to begin in the spring of 2022, just before Bromley’s next birthday. “This year, more than ever before, it’s been in God’s hands,” Bromley said. “There have been so many things happening that it’s clear it’s in His plan. I’m so excited.”

A Taste of Glynn 2022

Funding the programs provided by Glynn Community Crisis Center and Amity House requires money, much of which is raised at their annual signature event, A Taste of Glynn. The local culinary competition features many of the best restaurants and caterers in the Golden Isles and is held at The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort on St. Simons Island. The event will take place on Sunday, January 16, 2022, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. Tickets are $60 at the door or are available to purchase online in advance for a discounted price of $45 at ATasteofGlynn.com.