A Place to Begin Again: The Work of the Violence Prevention Center
How one local organization helps survivors and their children find safety, regain confidence, and build a future of their own.
A mother enters shelter with two young children and no money of her own. In the months that follow, she works with an advocate, receives counseling, and opens a checking account. Eventually, with help through the Violence Prevention Center’s Rapid Rehousing program, she moves into an apartment.
Her children choose paint colors for their bedroom.
This is a composite example shared by VPC, drawn from experiences its team sees often, rather than the story of one identifiable family. But that detail, children choosing the colors of their own room, brings the work into focus.
There is shelter. There is help finding housing and accessing resources. There is someone to listen and help work through the next step. And eventually, there is room for ordinary family decisions to become theirs again.
“No one outside these walls sees that moment. But for that family, it’s everything.”
GlowInto spoke with Courtney Kampwerth, Executive Director of the Violence Prevention Center, about the organization’s services, the families it supports, and the community that helps make its work possible. The interview responses and quotes throughout this story are hers.
Support that begins with the person
A safe place to sleep. Someone who listens. Help understanding a legal process. Counseling that continues as a family finds its footing.
At the Violence Prevention Center, those needs are connected.
Serving Monroe, Randolph, and St. Clair counties in Illinois, VPC brings together emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, legal advocacy, and community education. Its survivor services are free and confidential.
Each person who reaches out brings different circumstances, responsibilities, and hopes for what comes next. Understanding those needs begins with a question Kampwerth asks the community to consider:
“What does she need to be able to leave safely?”
The answer might involve housing, transportation, access to money, or support for children. It might begin with a conversation and time to consider the options.
VPC’s work starts with listening to the person who will be making those decisions.
What happens when someone reaches out?
Someone calling VPC does not have to arrive with a completed plan or know exactly what she wants to do next.
“Our first job is to listen without judgment,” Kampwerth explains. “We don’t tell anyone what to do.”
Staff ask what is happening, what the caller fears most, and what she wants. Together, they work through a safety plan, whether she is ready to leave or needs support while remaining where she is.
That approach gives the person reaching out a voice in what happens next.
“Survivors stay in control of their own decisions, because so much control has already been taken from them.”
For someone who has struggled to make choices freely, being heard without pressure can be a meaningful beginning.
There is a lesson here for friends, relatives, and coworkers who want to help, too: listen, believe the person confiding in you, and give them room to make their own decisions.
What does that support look like?
VPC’s services address both immediate needs and the work of rebuilding over time.
The 24-hour crisis hotline offers a place to talk, ask questions, and begin considering options at any hour.
Emergency shelter provides a safe place for survivors and their children, along with access to support as they consider their next steps.
Legal advocacy helps people navigate a process that may feel unfamiliar or overwhelming.
Counseling gives adults and children space to work through their experiences and rebuild confidence. VPC offers individual and group counseling, along with specialized support for children.
These services work together. Someone may first need a safe place to stay, then help navigating legal questions, followed by continuing counseling as life begins to settle.
The support can grow and change with the person receiving it.
Building stability beyond shelter
Think again of the mother opening a checking account.
It is an everyday task for many people. For someone rebuilding independence, it can be an important step toward managing her own money and making plans for her family.
Kampwerth describes practical needs that may include replacement documents, employment, childcare, transportation, and access to a bank account. Helping someone identify and work through those needs is part of making stability possible.
Housing is another essential piece.
VPC identifies safe, affordable housing as one of the hardest needs to meet locally. A survivor may make progress in other areas and still struggle to find a home she can afford on one income.
Its Rapid Rehousing program helps survivors move from shelter into stable, permanent housing.
That continuing support matters because rebuilding takes time. Confidence, financial stability, and trust do not follow a fixed schedule. Having somewhere safe to sleep tonight is an important beginning, with other steps still ahead.
For the mother in VPC’s composite example, the apartment represents the work of many months coming together. For her children, it also means a bedroom they can help make their own.
Helping children find their footing
Children are part of this work in their own right.
A child arriving at shelter may be adjusting to unfamiliar surroundings, a different routine, and time away from familiar people and belongings. VPC helps children establish routines, stay connected to school, and find adults they can trust.
Counseling provides additional support shaped around children’s experiences and needs.
The everyday pieces matter: consistency, connection, and caring adults who continue to show up.
As a family rebuilds, those supports can help create space for children to feel more settled and begin looking ahead.
A bedroom paint color cannot tell that whole story. It offers a glimpse of what stability can make possible.
A community helping make the work possible
The work inside VPC is supported by people and businesses throughout the community.
One shared example is Advantage Family Chiropractic, where Dr. Gail Meese’s practice is donating new-patient exam fees to VPC through December 31, 2026.
Other businesses and individuals can begin by contacting VPC about current needs, donations, volunteering, or fundraising opportunities.
Kampwerth shares that unrestricted gifts can help meet immediate needs such as food, clothing, hygiene supplies, and housing deposits. Behind each gift is something practical that can help a person take the next step.
The Center also provides community education and training. Learning how to respond thoughtfully when someone asks for help is another way to support its mission.
Ladies’ Night Out: An evening that gives back
For anyone looking for a way to support VPC while enjoying time with friends, Ladies’ Night Out brings the community together for an evening with a purpose.
The event takes place Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Belleville Ballroom, 225 East A Street in Belleville.
Guests can enjoy shopping with local vendors, pampering, drinks, appetizers, and music, with proceeds supporting VPC’s services.
Tickets are $50 per person or $350 for a table of eight. Ticket and sponsorship information is available through the event page.
Get tickets and learn more about Ladies’ Night Out.
An evening spent connecting with friends becomes a way to help keep shelter, counseling, and advocacy available to families in the community.
The difference support can make
The mother and children in VPC’s composite example help us understand how these services come together.
An advocate helps with next steps. Counseling provides continuing support. Housing assistance helps make an apartment possible.
Then comes a moment that belongs to the family: children choosing the colors of their bedroom.
Much of this work happens privately. The community may never meet the person whose call is answered or the family whose housing deposit receives support. But the impact belongs to people living here, building their next chapter one decision at a time.
That is the heart of the Violence Prevention Center’s work: helping people find safety, regain confidence, and build a life they have a say in shaping.
Connect with the Violence Prevention Center
VPC serves Monroe, Randolph, and St. Clair counties in Illinois. Emergency shelter, counseling, and legal advocacy are free and confidential.
For help or questions about services:
24-hour crisis hotline: 618-235-0892
For general inquiries and ways to get involved:
Office: 618-236-2531
Email: info@vpcswi.org
Explore VPC’s services and resources
Donate to support VPC’s work
Attend Ladies’ Night Out on November 5
