TAPE LOG-KATHY HODGES. Kathy Hodges, the Coalition for Family Peace

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1 TAPE LOG-KATHY HODGES Interviewee: Kathy Hodges, the Coalition for Family Peace Interviewer: Laura Micheletti Interview Date: Monday, November 8, 1999 Location: Hodges' office, Siler City, NC Tape No.: (cassette 1 of 1) (Approximate total length of 65 minutes) Topic: An oral history of two related domestic violence organizations in Chatham County: the Family Violence and Rape Crisis Services Center in Pittsboro and the Coalition for Family Peace in Siler City. Subject Headings: Chatham County; Domestic Violence TAPE INDEX Counter Index Topic [Cassette 1 of 1, Side A] 007 Born in Durham, NC in Was a second-generation "Durham kid." Moved away from the area, but returned to Durham six years ago. 017 Father worked as an architect. Mother earned a degree in nursing, but did not work outside the home after Hodges was born. 021 Has three sisters and a brother. Discusses siblings. 026 Describes her schooling. Attended public schools in Durham, earned undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina.

2 030 Moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 1979 with the intention of working at a runaway shelter for one year and then returning to North Carolina. Lived in Birmingham for thirteen years. 043 While in Birmingham, worked with runaways, troubled teens, substance abuse, and battered women. 054 Has been working with battered women for almost twelve years. 055 Describes how she came to work with battered women. Mentions her strong sense of justice and desire for a career change. 065 Returned to Chatham because she wanted to spend more time with her family who lived in North Carolina and saw that there was a job opening related to domestic violence. 091 Began to work at the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 096 Was hired as Director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 098 Has been in North Carolina for the past seven years. 101 Describes how she became involved with the Coalition for Family Peace. After having a baby, decided to look for a less stressful job. Applied and was accepted for position at the Coalition for Family Peace. 116 Has been working at the Coalition for Family Peace for almost three years. 119 Describes the history of the Coalition for Family Peace.

3 132 Coalition for Family Peace was an offshoot of the work that Kit [Gruelle] was doing with the Bridges Program. 138 Aim of the Coalition for Family Peace is to build a coordinated community response to domestic violence. 142 Describes the process of obtaining and implementing a C[enter for] D[isease] C[ontrol] grant. 155 Was hired as Project Director of the Coalition for Family Peace. 157 Delineates job duties which include interfacing with the CDC. 159 Describes relationship with CDC as fairly high-contact. 169 Delineates some of the Coalition's achievements, such as the development of taskforces, community outreach, public awareness, the creation of the Rural Project. 180 Was instrumental in developing the Rural Project, which is essentially the Hispanic Outreach Project which grew out of a rural grant. 191 The Coalition's relationship with the CDC is fairly good, but there were several reoccurring points of contention. 193 One point of contention was the CDCs insistence that the Coalition use the term "intimate partner violence" which the Coalition resisted because it was not easily identifiable or understood by the community. 229 The Coalition did not receive continuation funding from the CDC which has proved to be difficult.

4 231 Describes process by which the CDC determines which groups receive continuation funding. 244 The Coalition's goal, as defined by the CDC, is to research the development of the community coalition. The three year grant to do research, however, was not long enough. 256 Personally, she has a mixed feeling toward the CDC. 270 Describes the Coalition's battle with its sponsor, the hospital, over the Coalition's operations. 330 Initial name of organization was "Zero Tolerance Coalition" but that term was not easily understood by the community and was perceived as confrontational. 346 Explains how coalitions need to operate. 356 Coalition has become less confrontational. 359 Original goals of coalition were to decrease community tolerance for domestic violence and to increase services. 366 Despite difficulties, feels that the Coalition has been fairly successful. 373 Coalition was originally viewed by the community with some skepticism. 380 Siler City is a community in transition. 385 Consistency with staff has helped to mitigate the community's skepticism. 388 Discusses importance of personal relationships. 400 Coalition had to work hard to establish credibility in the community.

5 401 Discusses the controversy surrounding domestic violence. 420 Discusses power differentials between staff and lower income clients. 427 Discusses power differentials between staff and Hispanic clients. 430 Coalition works hard to have clients set the agenda. The Coalition is much less directive than other kinds of social service agencies. 444 Describes Coalition's approach to situations in which clients return to their batterers. 458 Imbalance of power is almost inevitable, but Coalition tries to restore that balance. 462 Staff members work well as a team. The Coalition is not very hierarchical. 485 Discusses the impact of immigration on the Coalition's work. 492 In the anti-immigrant backlash, the Coalition has been tarred as immigrant advocates. 497 Most of the Coalition's work is similar for both Hispanic and English-speaking populations. 503 Batterers' group in Spanish focuses to a larger extent on family issues than does the English-speaking Batterers' group and is set up differently. Has been somewhat more successful. 511 Delineates the differences between the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking Batterers' groups.

6 535 It is difficult to tell whether the rate of domestic violence has changed with the influx of immigrants. 558 Is not able to state how the rates of domestic violence in Chatham compare with rates in other areas. 561 There is some indication that the South is more violent that other areas of the country. 568 Language and strategies have been impacted by the Coalition's location a rural part of the South. Can not use the terms "feminism" or "patriarchy." 575 The Coalition spends a lot of time focusing on children. 584 Can not afford to be as radical as other domestic violence organizations for fear of alienating the community. 592 [End of Side A] [Cassette 1 of 1, Side B] 033 Domestic violence is generally a controversial issue, but in this area there is not the same pressure for political correctness that exists in other areas. 059 Siler City is essentially divided into two communities: immigrants and people who have always lived there. 084 Compares the Coalition to urban domestic violence organizations. 129 The Coalition is a feminist organization, but does not use the "f-word." Feminism is more lived than talked about at the Coalition.

7 141 Discusses the methods by which the Coalitions seeks to empower women. 151 Characterizes the Coalition's relationship with law enforcement as generally good. 164 Clients' relationships with law enforcement officials have been mixed. 184 Characterizes the Coalition's relationship with the legal system as mixed. 202 Discusses the charge against Kit Gruelle for practicing law without a degree. 214 Experience has caused other staff members to question their own roles in courts. 225 Discusses the impact of state and national domestic violence legislation on the Coalition's work. 299 Discusses the Coalition's relationship with other women's groups. 311 Discusses the Coalition's relationship to the domestic violence movement. The Coalition is affected by many of the same trends that have impacted other domestic violence organizations. 320 North Carolina has not faced as much backlash as other states have witnessed, especially regarding fathers' rights groups. 333 [End of interview]

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