OLGFC in Worthington, founded out of St. Mary’s Parish by Fr. Jim Callahan, Deacon (Dr.) Dave Plevak, Fr. Luis Vargas, and Fr. Jose Morales, has been awarded a $10,000 Works of Justice Fund Grant for its work in combating domestic violence.

OLGFC is an active work of mercy in the Winona diocese.  Clinic volunteers are committed to promoting physical, mental, and spiritual health in the community, especially for immigrants.  Their experience with patients in the medical clinic led the volunteer doctors and nurses to identify domestic violence as one of the most egregious barriers keeping families and individuals trapped in a cycle of poverty.  Disturbingly prevalent in the population at large, domestic violence assumes more troubling dimensions in the growing immigrant population in Worthington.  At the clinic, staff noticed that immigrant women in abusive relationships were in particularly precarious situations because they were vulnerable to both physical assault and coercive measures related to immigration or non-immigration status.

Battered immigrant women are often unable to communicate proficiently in English.  In addition, cultural norms deter immigrant women from seeking help within immigrant families and communities.  Violence in a marriage may also be seen as a "private problem" and women may be discouraged from going outside traditional family structures for solutions.  Many immigrant women are unwilling to bear the consequences of ending their marriage, such as estrangement from family and community, and for many women deportation is a prospect to be avoided at all costs; therefore, there is a fear of involving law enforcement. The stakes are high.  Speaking out about their abuse may mean a return to a life of malnutrition, poverty, and disease for them and their children.  For women who have fled political persecution, it may mean torture, jail, or death.
 

OLGFC has begun to fight against domestic violence in the immigrant community by holding workshops on domestic violence, hosting public forums on the issue, and providing educational materials and counselors for the immigrant community.  In seeking a long-term solution to the problem, OLGFC staff members recognized that only peers from within each ethnic community would have the understanding of the whole situation and be trusted enough to bring significant relief to the abused women and, significantly, education and behavior modification to the men who were abusing them.

To train peer counselors, OLGFC plans to use the Works of Justice Fund Grant to build leadership circles, "Circulos de Liderazgo,” made up of women and men from the immigrant community who have experienced domestic violence.  Clinic staff members have identified individuals with leadership potential, and these candidates are now training to be peer leaders in and among the immigrant community.  In addition to the leadership training, the clinic will also offer basic literacy training.   Leadership training will include the use of an audio and visual curriculum for non-readers. The program is unique in that it will have a component which concentrates on men and emphasizes the prevention of abuse by challenging cultural norms and developing leadership and support groups of men to help with prevention. Education efforts will also be focused on youth, teens, and young adults through St. Mary's School, Parish Faith Formation, and the middle school and high school in Worthington.