Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Domestic Violence Center to Mark Decade of Service : Families: The agency’s caseload is skyrocketing as its budget is shrinking. Nevertheless, it plans to expand its scope.

NEWHALL — When the Assn. to Aid Victims of Domestic Violence celebrates its 10th anniversary today, it does so amid a more than five-fold increase in reports of battered spouses over the last three years and a one-third decrease in funding since last year.

The only agency of its kind in the Santa Clarita Valley, the association provides crisis assistance for victims of spousal abuse, including counseling, referrals to social and legal agencies, emergency temporary shelter and a hot line that receives 1,000 calls a year.

While the center’s budget shrunk to $100,000 this year from $150,000 in 1992, the number of new cases it handles has skyrocketed, said Executive Director Clara Stroup.

In 1990, the center took on 41 new cases, about a quarter of them male perpetrators. So far this year, more than 200 people have walked through the center’s doors, 40% of them men.

The increase in the agency’s clientele, Stroup said, reflects a greater awareness among women that they can seek help to get out of abusive situations. Also, changes in state law have increased the number of male perpetrators referred to the agency.

It is often difficult, Stroup said, to convince people that domestic violence is a problem in the middle- and upper-middle-class neighborhoods of the Santa Clarita Valley.

“Frequently, people would think that perhaps we’re better off because we think of ourselves as a really nice community,” Stroup said. “But the statistics are the same regardless of what neighborhood you are in. The only difference is that it may not be as visible.”

Half of the center’s money comes from fund-raising events, such as the one being held tonight at the New to You Thrift Shop, a consignment store owned by the association and run by volunteers. The association, Stroup said, receives no public funding.

Instead, the agency relies on a small army of about three dozen volunteers, with Stroup being the only paid, full-time employee. Two counselors from the nearby Newhall-Valencia Marriage, Family & Child Counseling Center volunteer their time to run separate group sessions for men and women.

In the coming years, Stroup said, the agency hopes to expand its services to include group counseling for teen-agers.

But the agency’s most ambitious goal is to eventually open a permanent, long-term shelter for abused women, Stroup said. Currently, the agency can only offer short-term, crisis shelter. The nearest full-service facilities are in Canoga Park and Palmdale.

“A woman often doesn’t have transportation and would have difficulty getting there,” Stroup said. “Also, those shelters are filled all the time.”