The Freeborn County Domestic Abuse Project and Freeborn County United Way hosted a community impact manager of Greater Twin Cities United Way to talk about how to work as a community to fight all kinds of family and domestic violence.

Dave Ellis worked with those attending the meeting to review research about domestic violence. One of the activities was watching a 10-minute video about the history of gender violence in Minnesota.

“The issue of violence in families is a community issue,” Ellis said.

Rose Olmsted, supervisor for the Freeborn County Crime Victim’s Crisis Center, said Ellis looked to get input from those who attended the meeting. He had them read a rough draft of a document about domestic abuse and they’ll have to take a survey about it.

“It’s about getting the community involved in the issue of battering and family violence,” Olmsted said.

The meeting was for those interested in learning more about gender violence, for those who work with women or men who have been abused and for those who want to learn more about the research of gender violence.

Ann Austin, executive director for Freeborn County United Way, said that because of budget cuts agencies need to be more effective with the resources they have. She also said the community needs to be able to change and looking at best practices can help by finding the best ways to deal with problems with the least resources.

“Having a conversation about domestic violence as a community is the most valuable thing we can do,” Austin said.

Olmsted said Ellis is unique in that he wants to work with men to get them involved in the issue. Ellis said he knows wanting to work with perpetrators of domestic violence can be upsetting to some people, but he also thinks it’s important to focus on the problem and source of many of the domestic abuse cases. He also said the community needs to think about changing some things like getting rid of pornography for rent in hotel rooms because it objectifies women.

“We cannot continue with the status quo,” Ellis said.

He said rates of domestic abuse are not decreasing even with all the efforts put forth so far by advocacy groups and resource centers. The Freeborn County Crime Victim’s Crisis Center served 251 victims of domestic abuse in 2009 alone. Ellis was asked by Austin and Olmsted to come and speak to people in Freeborn County, and he’s glad they asked. He said only conflict can create change so he welcomes it.

“People in this area get it — they want to make a difference,” Ellis said. “That’s the people I like working with.”

About 27 people were in attendance at the meeting. Ellis said his commitment is to work with Austin and Olmsted to help figure out how to address issues, find resources and best practices.

“You have to have a diverse way of looking at things — it helps resolve issues,” Ellis said.

For more information about the fight against domestic violence go to www.unitedfrontmn.org.