Subtle shifts in direction for WSS

SHARON, Conn. — Most of the recent changes at Women’s Support Services, the domestic violence agency with its office in Sharon, are not really visible to the average person who interacts with the organization. There have been some internal shifts; Betsey Mauro, who joined WSS in January, is still the executive director and Vicki Kirkpatrick remains in charge of the popular Trade Secrets Rare Plant and Garden Antiques Sale.

A new addition to the staff is Shelly Ross Robbins, who joined WSS on Monday, Sept. 19. A resident of Bedford, N.Y., she has lived and worked all over the world, from eastern Europe to Fiji, as a program manager and fundraiser. 

At WSS, she will be in charge of fund development and communication. 

In an interview on Thursday, Sept. 22, Mauro and Robbins emphasized the importance of community to WSS as an agency. 

“For us as a domestic violence agency, we’re not looking only to support our clients,” Robbins said. “We are looking for community change. We want to create a healthier community.”

A big part of that effort is the prevention programs that WSS presents at the Region One schools, from pre-school to high school. 

“We want young people to know there are options other than violence in a relationship,” Mauro said. 

“And those lessons carry over into adulthood,” Robbins added. “They affect how a person relates not only to family but also to colleagues, to neighbors.”

Mauro said that WSS has reached 4,700 children through its prevention programs in the past year, from July 2015 to June 2016. 

The agency has helped 527 individuals who had been in abusive relationships;  41 of those were children, Mauro said. 

WSS primarily serves towns in the Northwest Corner but also helps some clients in nearby New York state. 

One of the signature WSS events each year is the candlelight vigil, which will be held this year on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m. The vigil is held in different area towns each year; the Oct. 4 gathering will be on the Green in Falls Village — steps away from the original office of WSS, which was for many years in the old railroad depot. It is also steps away from the home of interior designer Bunny Williams, who founded and remains the honorary chair of Trade Secrets.

“This year, we are moving away from the somber vigils of past years,” Mauro said. “We want the community to join us and to bear witness to the fact that we have more work to do, and we need to do it together.”

Following the vigil, there will be a reception at the nearby Falls Village Inn. Everyone in the community is welcome and encouraged to participate. 

For more information on this and other WSS programs, go to www.wssdv.org. And keep an eye out in the future for a stronger social media presence for WSS, thanks to Robbins.