Whittney Loyd first volunteered for Turning Point Domestic Violence Services when she was still a student at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs more than 15 years ago.
“I knew, pretty much from the beginning I was interested in working for the not-for-profit sector with the goal of always helping others,” she said.
Turning Point, based in Bartholomew County, also serves Johnson, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings and Shelby counties, respectively.
Loyd joined the organization in a full-time capacity in 2011 but left in 2015 to work for Riley Children’s Foundation as a gift officer. From there, she transitioned into a position with United Way of Bartholomew County as resource development director. After the retirement of Turning Point’s president Lisa Shafran in late 2021, Loyd returned to the nonprofit, but this time as its president in early 2022. Her husband, Adam, also volunteers for Turning Point, and the couple has two children — Nash, 6, and Blythe, 3.
What is Turning Point’s history, and what is its role?
The mission of Turning Point is to work toward the prevention and elimination of domestic and dating violence. Our vision is a world free from violence. Our agency was created by two sisters in Bartholomew County, Rickie and Barbara Steeb. They started Turning Point, originally called Columbus Regional Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence, out of the Woodlawn Motel in downtown Columbus. Thankfully, the Steeb sisters recognized a need for local women seeking safety and acted.
We have grown exponentially over the last 50 years, expanding to other counties and our shelter, which is now in a different location and adding critical programming. We started serving Johnson County in 1998, and services have continued to grow there with the need for our services continuously rising since then.
What services does Turning Point provide?
In the past year, Turning Point has grown our shelter capacity year from 25 beds to 40 beds. Our shelter is in Bartholomew County, but it is open to all the counties that we serve. Johnson County is our second highest utilizer of shelter nights, behind Bartholomew. We engage with a lot of Johnson County residents through our transitional housing program, supporting with rent and last year, we provided 1,123 nights of safe shelter to Johnson County residents.
We offer Latina services, as Spanish speaking individuals continue to be our fastest growing population. We have a legal services program, with a dedicated attorney representing participants with divorce and paternity cases and protective orders.
We have a helpline, 1-800-221-6311, that’s available 24/7, 365. A real person, who is a trained advocate, will pick up that line and an entire prevention department within our agency gets out in front of interpersonal violence to educate people to look for red flags in relationships, and empower bystanders.
We work inside a lot of schools, primarily middle and high schools. We are in several Johnson County schools providing a Safe Dates curriculum that is all about healthy relationships. We teach people how to be a good friend, a good supporter, a good listener, and how to communicate in healthy ways with all the people in your life. We presented prevention, education or training to 3,521 Johnson County students and community members.
How serious is the need for the services Turning Point provides?
We are continuing to see violence escalate with younger individuals. Students are starting to date at a younger age, and technology has played a major role in complicating relationships for them. Students have a lot of questions, and they don’t always feel comfortable asking their teacher or guidance counselor. So having a trained professional they can talk to has been impactful. We also have partnerships with Girls Inc. and the Boys & Girls Club.
Also, the level of lethality that we are experiencing with participants is unmatched. The violence we have seen people experiencing has also become quite prevalent. Human trafficking is something that continues to increase. It’s something that is not our primary service area, but something we’ve identified as a great need. The same goes for sexual assault and stalking. This is complicated by the fact that federal and state funding is decreasing for victims of crimes.
What have been some of your most challenging and rewarding experiences in your current role
at Turning Point?
One of the most challenging things for me as a leader is not only seeing the violence that is within our communities but watching the team work with so many survivors and take on vicarious trauma with limited ways to help. And the financial piece, trying to navigate increasing services with declining funds has become a significant challenge for Turning Point.
The most rewarding part of my job is seeing families leave an unhealthy or extremely violent situation and start fresh. They find safe, secure housing, and they live independently. I don’t work directly with clients, but when you’re with us, say you’re in our shelter, life goes on. It’s a home. We make it as homelike as possible. We do our homework, and we do laundry, and we play hopscotch in the shelter courtyard.
The most special experiences I have are when we see children’s birthday parties. We’ll have pizza and cake, we try to help with presents, and we celebrate. Being able to provide that normalcy for a child, on what is supposed to be an incredibly special day for them, has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done since I’ve been here. Just the smallest thing means so much in those moments, and that’s what makes the work worth it.
How can the community support Turning Point?
Monetary gifts are greatly appreciated. Our website: turningpointdv.org – has all that information. Attend our events. We are taking part in “Dancing with the Johnson County Stars” on Sept. 13-14 at the Historic Artcraft Theatre. Then, we are hosting our second “Not So Newly Wed” game at Franklin College in February.
We have volunteer opportunities at the shelter, at our administrative offices and in Johnson County. We are always looking for volunteers to help with clerical or administration duties, such as making thousands of “Safe Dates” folders. Volunteers also table with us or help talk to people and engage with the community. We get a lot of in-kind donations and organizing and inventorying those items to prepare them for all the counties is helpful. We partner with local businesses who come in and do group projects for us.
You can also contact Michele Lee, who is the point of contact for the Johnson County Coalition for volunteers, at [email protected]
If you can’t volunteer, or you’re unable to donate, we always ask people to educate themselves on the topic and help us raise awareness by knowing that we exist, knowing there is a helpline, and being empowered to help those around you.
