Helping the hurting

She helps children navigate through life when domestic violence or violent crime upends their world.

Huse, a 2002 graduate of Fort Dodge Senior High School, actually serves both D/SAOC and the Homicide/Other Violent Crimes (H/OVC) office in Fort Dodge.

At D/SAOC, she has held the role of child advocate for 18 years. For the past four years, she’s been the homicide/other violent crimes specialist, a program that is under the D/SAOC umbrella, but has its own office.

As the child advocate for D/SAOC, Huse works with children 17 years of age and under who arrive at the shelter with a parent or guardian who is seeking shelter from domestic violence. Her duties there vary greatly, depending on the age of the child and the situation they are coming from.

“We provide basic needs for the kids when they come in. Anyone coming into shelter will have needs,” said Huse, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake.

“For kids, it looks very different. They have to leave behind their toys, or their video games. So a lot of times, it’s me trying to find things to keep them busy or make them feel welcome,” she added. “We try to occupy their mind so they aren’t reminded they are not at home any more and they’re in a strange place.”

Huse said there is also an extra challenge when school is in session. Sometimes children arriving at the shelter are coming from a different school district and need to be enrolled into the Fort Dodge Community School District.

“If they are in school, we try to get them supplies and help them stay up on their school work,” she said. “I can help them get enrolled in schools. Sometimes they are already enrolled in schools here, but we see more coming from different areas so they need to relocate schools. I can get the process started.”

In addition to helping find school supplies and other school needs, the shelter also tries to get children some comfort items, like a new toy or a new blanket.

Huse said once families leave the shelter, she is no longer able to offer them services, but she works with parents if they want to find additional support from other agencies.

“Once they leave shelter, we try to link them with our sister agency, Crisis Intervention Service, to continue that support,” she said. “If they are in school, and the parents are comfortable enough, we can try to link them with a school counselor. Oftentimes, though, with domestic violence situations, the parent may not be comfortable with that.”

Huse said she also tries her best to make the children in the shelter have as normal of an existence as possible. She provides, through donors and volunteer groups, birthday cakes and presents and Christmas presents for those that celebrate.

She also gives children that arrive at the shelter a “care kit” that includes things that make them feel more comfortable in their new surroundings. Those include toys, blankets, activities and other items. All are age specific.

Huse began her role with the H/OVC office in a child advocacy role, because there were a lot of kids that had witnessed some pretty violent crimes, or they were being asked to testify in a criminal trial.

“I initially started helping with the program that way, or when we had a high-profile case where the homicide specialists needed extra advocates to help,” she said. “That’s kind of how I got into the program. I officially have been in this position as a child advocate for about four years.”

Huse also helps when adults need support. She helps anyone who is a violent crime survivor or a homicide survivor.

“We offer a wide variety of things,” she said. “We can provide initial support with law enforcement on scene, if they ask us to be there with a family. Typically we get our referrals from law enforcement or the county attorney. They’ll identify a victim that could need our services and we reach out to them.”

Huse said they can provide emotional support or individual counseling if necessary. They can also make referrals for therapy. And she works with prosecutors, the Iowa Attorney General’s office or even funeral homes.

“Anyone that is working with the family, we can be a part of that process and help in any way,” she said.

“If there is a child that is a witness to a crime and they are going to be asked to testify, initially they’ll pull me in for a meeting with the prosecutor handling the case,” she said. “Then we’ll meet with mom, dad, or whoever.

“Then a lot of the process is meeting individually with them and simply playing games or something like that. We might not necessarily talk about the trauma or what they experienced. A lot of time, it’s just getting to know each other and getting them feeling comfortable.”

Huse said she helps as best she can to get the children ready to testify. She gets them comfortable with a courtroom setting and what the process involves.

“It’s tough to be in that position as an adult, but then to be a kid and not really understand what’s happening, that can be intimidating,” said Huse.

Huse said she’s allowed in the courtroom in a support position. Sometimes, depending on the setting, she can sit with the child or even the child’s attorney. Other times, she has to sit in the general courtroom seating.

“I always make sure I sit where the child or teen can see me. I can’t nod or gesture. I just try to be that reassuring face,” she said.

So after 18 years of dealing with some pretty traumatic events, it would be easy to see Huse getting burned out. But she said she’s got a great support system.

“Honestly, the support of my co-workers has been great. I can’t go home and can’t talk about my day. I can’t go home and vent like a different job. We sit in with families and we see crime pictures and videos. I think at the end of the day, it’s nice to have coworkers that I can talk to and ask, ‘Is this really happening?’” she said.

“And, I’ve always tried to put the focus on the kids. It’s not about me. It’s hard and I can have vicarious trauma, and that’s a real thing, but at the same time it’s about the families we work with,” Huse said. “That’s their loved one that this happened to. So even if I am struggling with something, I take the perspective that it’s that family that is going through this and I think about what they are going through.”

Jamie and her husband, Nick, have two children, Caleb and Kinsley.