Mutual Grounds

Providing Services in southern Kane County and Kendall County for Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Empowering victims to make their own decisions when provided support, encouragement, and information.

Sexual Assault 24 Hour Hotline: (630) 897- 8383

Domestic Violence 24 Hour Hotline: (630) 897- 0080

(NO LINES HAVE CALLER ID)

Services Provided

Emergency Shelter

Mutual Ground (MGI) operates a shelter for women and their minor children who are victims of domestic violence. Here victims are provided safety, shelter and support services while they learn they have the power to change their lives.

professional staff available 24 hours a day

specialized support services

thirty-two bed capacity

serving southern Kane and Kendall counties

Domestic Violence Counseling For Women

Domestic violence is the physical abuse, threat of physical abuse, or the emotional abuse by a relative or person with whom the victim resides.

Not all domestic violence victims need shelter. Some need to assess and explore their options before making a decision. Some need continuing support regarding their decision. Some need group interaction to break down feelings of isolation, and promote healing.

individual counseling available by appointment

weekly support groups

parenting group to encourage non-violent behavior

referrals and advocacy with local social service agencies

For Children

Children are victims too, directly or indirectly. Understanding the violence is necessary to break this cycle of abuse.

individual counseling

Date des vacances scolaires en Corse

support groups

education about cooperative, non-violent problem solving

activity and play groups

Sexual Assault Counseling

Sexual assault refers to all types of sexual violence with or without a weapon: rape, incest, molestation, child sexual assault/abuse and sexual harassment. Services are provided to all victims regardless of age or gender.

24 hour crisis intervention at hospitals and police stations

individual counseling by professional staff

support groups for rape, incest, children, adolescents, non-offending parents, and significant others

specialized services for teens

specialized services for children

play and art therapy

Victim Advocacy

Mutual Ground provides critical advocacy services for both domestic violence and sexual assault victims. MGI supplies information, emotional support, and sound technical understanding of the legal and social systems involved. These systems can be frightening and frustrating to both adults and children who must then deal with numerous institutions during their crisis.

Domestic Violence Victims

24 hour availability for advocacy at hospital emergency rooms

information on protection available through the Illinois Domestic Violence Act

Advocacy with social service agencies and the criminal justice system

support in criminal and civil court proceedings

advocacy with obtaining Orders of Protection

transportation to court

Sexual Assault Victims

24 hour availability for intervention at hospitals and police stations

information about medical exams and evidence collection

court preparation for adult or child victims

information about legal procedures

transportation to court

24-Hour Crisis Lines

It takes courage for those devastated by domestic violence or sexual assault to reach out for help. Their first contact can be crucial. MGI operates a 24-hour hot line for domestic violence and sexual assault victims.

NO LINES HAVE CALLER ID

All calls confidential

Calls taken by professional staff

Crisis intervention counseling

Support for families and friends of victims

Informed, non-judgmental support

Sensitive, accurate information

Community Education

Mutual Ground believes education is the key in prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault. MGI has several pro-active programs that are tailored to fit our philosophy that social change is necessary to prevent these crimes. Please click on the Comunity Education link for more information.

MGIannualreport03-04.pdf
MGIannualreport02-03.pdf

Community Education

Mutual Ground believes education is the key in prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault. MGI has several pro-active programs that are tailored to fit our philosophy that social change is necessary to prevent these crimes.

• Educational Programs on domestic violence and/or sexual abuse for diverse civic, professional, religious, social and corporate groups.
• Professional Programs to train and educate those who come in contact with victims: hospital staff, police officers, attorneys and social service agencies.
• School Prevention Programs tailored to meet the needs of specific age groups such as elementary, junior high, high school, or college, as well as teacher in-services and parent programs.

donations

Donations from the community and others are always welcomed
to help ensure the continuation of our services.
You can support Mutual Ground in the following ways:

Monetary Contributions
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Or mail a check directly to:
Mutual Ground
P.O. Box 843
Aurora, IL 60507

Charitable Giving

Donation of Supplies (see Wish List Below)

Vehicles or Property

All donations made to either the shelter or the resale shop are tax deductible.
◄Click here to learn about our Cell Phone Collection
◄Click here to see our Wish List of Supplies in pdf file

Facts

Domestic Violence

Half of all married women in the United States are physically abused at some time in their marriage.

One in 10 teenagers will be involved in a violent dating relationship before graduating from high school.

A woman is beaten every 10 seconds.

Domestic violence is the most under-reported crime in the US

Domestic violence cuts across all socioeconomic backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, or level of education.

Battering often occurs during pregnancy

10 women a day die at the hands of their husbands or partners

Every five years the number of women in the US who die at the hands of their partners is equal to the number of males who died in the Viet Nam War.

Abused women comprise 20% of all women presenting injuries at hospital emergency rooms

Mutual Ground provides 3500 nights of shelter to women and their children each year.

Mutual Ground provides services to approximately 1700 women and children each year.

Sexual Assault

Every 5 minutes a woman is raped

One-third of all rapes occur in a woman’s home

85% of all rapes are accompanied by violence or the threat of violence

Only 7% of sexually assaulted women report rape. This makes the actual number of rapes in the US as high as 2 million a year.

One in three girls and one in five boys will be sexually assaulted or abused before age 18.

In a Cornell University questionnaire, 92% of the respondents listed sexual harassment as a serious problem. 70% had personally experienced some form of harassment

American women are 8 times more likely to be raped than European women and 26 times more likely than Japanese women.

Mutual Ground serves over 400 new clients each year, and more than 700 ongoing victims or significant others

One third of Mutual Ground’s sexual assault program clients are children between the ages of 3-13

50% of MGIs clients between the ages of 3-10 are male

Friends of Mutual Ground

The Friends of Mutual Ground was formed on September 9, 2004 at the “First Annual Friends of Mutual Ground Cocktail Party” at the Q Center in St. Charles at which over 200 women and men gathered to see how they could help garner publicity, gather funds, and guarantee awareness of the essential services we offer free of charge to women and children who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in southern Kane, Kendall, and DuPage/Aurora counties.

From that date on, the momentum has been building…the desire to help is palatable…now is the time to capitalize on that fervor. Won’t you join us? There are so many ways you can help. From fund-raising to retail work in our thrift shop to administrative work to small tasks around the shelter, we have a wide variety of tasks that need to be done. But most importantly, we have fun while we’re doing it!

If you’d like to become a Friend - it’s easy to get started. Simply print out the form below, complete, and either mail it to or drop it off at Mutual Ground. Please make checks payable to The Friends of Mutual Ground. We’ll do the rest. Like any good friend, we can’t wait to get to know you! We’ll be in touch soon! Thank you!

Philosphy

The problems of sexual assault/abuse and domestic violence bring devastation and suffering to the victims, their families, and the entire community. The fact that these problems exist is a threat to all because any one of us is a potential victim.

Mutual Ground believes that all people have a right to a violence-free life. We believe that the abuser perpetrates acts of control and power that the victim does not provoke, enjoy or deserve. With appropriate support victims can regain control of their lives, and through education we can work to eliminate root causes of abuse.

Mutual Ground recognizes that women and men have the right to their own identification and need not define themselves according to cultural traditions, some of which allow room for cycles of abuse to occur. We recognize the importance of working to eliminate root causes of cycles of abuse. Mutual Ground believes education is a vital component in working towards the prevention of physical and sexual abuse.

Privacy Statement

At Mutual Ground we value you and share your concerns about privacy. We are providing this notice to explain how we care for your personal information that we may ask you to provide, or information we obtain from other sources. We respect your privacy and we protect your information:

We do not share your information with persons, companies, or organizations outside of Mutual Ground., except as needed to provide you with service you request.

We do not sell customer information to anyone.

We communicate to our employees the need to protect your information, and we have established physical and electronic safeguards to do the same.

We convey to persons and organizations with which we do business the need to keep your information confidential.

Communications with Us
Our Website has features where users can submit information to us. Requests for service, support or information may be forwarded as needed to best respond to a specific request. We may retain e-mails and other information sent to us for our internal administrative purposes, and to help us to serve customers better.

Volunteers

Volunteers are essential to the service of Mutual Ground. They are trained as professional aides in providing supportive services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Please contact us via email or phone for information on how you can be a part of the fight against violence. Volunteers contribute in these areas:
Crisis intervention to victims of sexual assault and/or domestic violence in hospitals and support in securing other community services, including:

Shelter Maintenance

Activities with children

Participation on the Board of Directors
Hospital Advocacy Volunteer Program

Includes a comprehensive 60-hour training about sexual assault and domestic violence.

This program trains an individual to respond to our three area hospitals (Rush-Copley, Provena Mercy, and Delnor-Community) to inform and empower a survivor of sexual assault and/or domestic violence by providing information and options. Trainings are held when enough interested persons can complete the training.

Hospital Advocacy Volunteer Application form
in pdf
please print/fill out/mail or fax to us
To volunteer for any of these opportunities at Mutual Ground
please call Pam at 630.897.8989
Or, email us at mutualground@ameritech.net for more information.

Contact Us

No Lines Have Caller ID

Domestic Violence:

Sexual Assault:

Hotline 630.897.0080 Hotline 630.897.8383
Office 630.897.0084 Office 630.897.8989

FAX (all) 630.897.3536

Mailing Address:

Mutual Ground, Inc.
PO Box 843
Aurora, Illinois 60507

Email: MutualGround@Ameritech.net