Domestic Violence Solutions (DVS) for Santa Barbara County has announced the completion of its new emergency shelter playground.

“DVS is incredibly grateful for the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, the generosity of its members, and its tremendous impact in the community,” said Charles Anderson, executive director of DVS.

This project, sponsored by a grant received from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, improves the aesthetics, safety and enjoyment of the present shelter facility by fully replacing a 25-year-old institutional-grade playground.

Helping children who have experienced domestic violence is a direct expression of DVS’s mission and an essential dynamic that challenges the inter-generational cycle of violence. Last year, 50 percent of victims in DVS shelters were children.

Play is an important element of a child’s recovery from trauma, especially for very young children who respond to stress and stressful feelings behaviorally.

Through play, kids are able to tap into their innocence and use their imaginations to escape their hurt and pain.

Therapeutic play activities are encouraged at all DVS shelters, and a stimulating and colorful playground environment encourages normal social interaction and learning with both adults and other children.

This grant from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara will help children for many years to come. DVS is now one step closer to helping children who are victims of domestic violence move on to have happy, healthy, violence-free lives.

Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County is committed to ending the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence through prevention and intervention services, and through challenging society’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to effect social change.

DVS provides the county’s only 24-hour shelter services for victims and their children, as well as transitional housing programs for domestic violence survivors.

DVS also operates four 24-hour hotlines; accompanies law enforcement on domestic violence calls; works to prevent domestic violence through teen outreach and education programs; and provides comprehensive counseling services to men, women, and children affected by domestic violence.