A Blue Ribbon for Abuse Victims’ New O.C. Resource

Newspaper journalists loathe ribbon-cutting ceremonies as much as public officials love them. The smiles of those squeezed in behind the ribbon for the picture-taking always seem forced or awkward.

But I wasn’t about to miss the one at 210 N. Malden Ave. in downtown Fullerton this week. It was for the grand opening of the Women’s Transitional Living Center’s new walk-in facility for victims of domestic violence. No forced smiles here: These people knew how much work it took to get this place open.

There are a number of shelters for battered women in Orange County. Operators always must keep their location secret, for the safety of the victim and her children. But the nonprofit Women’s Transitional Living Center, which operates such a shelter, saw the need to assist women who need advice but not necessarily temporary living quarters.

Fullerton Councilman Don Bankhead, a 32-year veteran of the city’s police force, was among the enthusiastic guests for the ribbon cutting.

“As a police officer, I saw a lot of domestic violence cases,” Bankhead said. “Usually, the best we could do would be to refer people to a phone number. It’s very helpful when the police can provide an actual address.”

Among those holding the ribbon was Jim Alexander, board president for the center. I asked him how he first came into this group.

“My wife and my two daughters are volunteers here,” he said. “So it was just a natural for me to get involved.” When I asked what the job has meant to him, he replied: “It always feels good to help people who need help. And with this walk-in center, we can help them even more.”

Sharon McGuire, a very dynamic group discussion leader for the center, gave me a tour. “Nobody will be turned away,” she said as we walked. “Pay will be on a sliding scale, what people can afford.”

A licensed clinician will be on duty. The walk-in center will also provide a legal clinic and crisis counseling, and officials hope to soon start a teen support group. One room had toys for the children. That’s another tragedy of domestic violence. There are almost always children involved.

Marlyn Osborn, a former president of the center, says it expects to see all kinds of situations.

“We may hear from someone who wants to remain at home and make her situation work but needs our advice on it,” Osborn said. “Or it could be a woman going into a second marriage who doesn’t want to see the repeat of a first, abusive marriage. Anyone who thinks we can help is welcome.”

The walk-in resource center is open for business now. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Getting It Right: The county’s Domestic Violence Task Force is busy now carrying out one of its goals--to make mental health experts more sensitive to spousal abuse problems. The Superior Court this month made it mandatory that any mental health official who wants to provide an expert opinion in child custody disputes must take 12 hours of domestic violence training. The first training session is next Friday and Saturday at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange. Spokeswoman Betty Shaffer says several dozen have signed up, many of them clinical psychologists.

Stop That Minister: Here’s the kind of tale they write about in TV sitcoms, except this one happened right here in Orange County last Saturday:

A 9-months-pregnant woman attended a wedding in Garden Grove. She is--or was--a friend of the groom. Before the minister could conclude the ceremony for the happy couple, the woman jumped up and yelled something like “Stop this wedding!” She then announced to the shocked audience that the groom is the father of the child she was carrying, and something about how he should be marrying her instead of the other woman.

And if this wasn’t spectacle enough, she went into labor. Right there in one of God’s most beautiful sanctuaries. Which one? Hold on to your hat: the Rev. Robert H. Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral. Talk about your Hour of Power.

The paramedics and a firetruck raced to the Crystal Cathedral to assist the woman. Unfortunately, I was unable to reach the minister performing the ceremony, Dr. Juan Carlos Ortiz, who heads the church’s Spanish-speaking ministry. But Crystal Cathedral spokesman Michael Nason said Ortiz passed on to him that “it was one of the most stressful days of my life.”

Others have told me that Ortiz went ahead and performed the ceremony in private. Nason was only able to confirm that Ortiz counseled the couple. Probably a good idea. As for the pregnant woman, we’re still working on what happened to her and the baby.

More Welcome Chore: What the Crystal Cathedral is good at, besides weddings, is bringing some of the country’s most gifted people to Orange County. Sunday, the church’s special guest will be Roberto Cruz, founder and president of National Hispanic University in San Jose. He’ll be the pulpit guest for the televised “Hour of Power” service, and also at the 12:45 p.m. “Special Hispanic Crusade” with the Rev. Ortiz.

National Hispanic University is one of only two four-year institutions geared specifically to Latino students. Cruz says it was needed because the rate of Latino high school graduates who completed college is only 7%.

Wrap-Up: Because I’ve written several columns related to domestic violence, I get occasional calls from victims of such abuse. But none was more chilling than a recent late-night call to my home from a Laguna Hills woman after my family and I had gone to bed.

She obviously had been crying for some time. Her son-in-law, with a history of wife abuse, had been on the warpath that day, and she greatly feared he was heading to her house next.

“I’m sitting in my living room with a bottle of ammonia in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other,” she told me, the only defense weapons she could think of in case he forced his way into her home. “This is no way to have to live!”

I felt helpless about what to tell her. But I mentioned this incident to Marlyn Osborn at the grand opening of the walk-in center. She had some advice: “Send her to us. We usually think of domestic violence as spousal abuse, but really, the abuse can be directed at other members of the family, including a mother-in-law. Get her to call us [(714) 992-1931]. We can help.”

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling the Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or by fax to (714) 966-7711, or e-mail toJerry.Hicks@latimes.com.