Hotline to Link Help to Battered Women

Women in Orange County soon will be able to call a toll-free hotline to receive professional counseling about domestic violence and information about emergency shelters, officials announced Thursday.

The hotline, known as A Safe Way Out, will begin operating in October. It is similar to a service available in Los Angeles County.

A caller will automatically be connected to the shelter closest to her home, said Supervisor William G. Steiner, who helped develop the program. The service will be available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean and Chinese.

“No longer will someone in need be transferred from one place to another or be placed into voice-mail,” Steiner said. “They’ll have a real person on the line.”

The hotline is being funded by a $175,000 donation from Shell Oil Products Co., which will also promote the service at its service stations throughout the county. The Orange County Transportation Authority will place advertisements for the number on 500 buses.

The program was created by USC student Shana deFries while she worked as an intern for Steiner. DeFries, a San Juan Capistrano resident, graduated in May from the USC School of Social Work.

Orange County domestic violence shelters and law enforcement agencies received more than 15,000 call for assistance from abuse victims in 1995. In 1993, authorities received 9,775 reports of abuse that involved weapons.