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A Domestic Violence Victim Support Organization

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You matter.  We care.

Let us help.

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We provide victims and survivors with guidance and assistance 24x7. ​

Text or call us at:

(937) 469-8007

Single Parents Rock empowers victims and survivors of domestic violence to find safety, support, connection and hope.

Our Services

We offer direct services to assist clients in addressing everyday life issues, complications, and problems. This includes incidents of neglect, abuse, domestic violence, as well as challenges related to mental health and substance abuse.

Personal
Advocacy
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Our Court Advocacy program is dedicated to helping clients navigate the legal aspects of protecting victims of domestic violence and intimate partner violence.

Court
Advocacy
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We provide dedicated companionship to domestic violence victims during court proceedings, offering emotional support and advocating for victims/survivors.

Court Accompanyment
Empty court room

In partnership with the Ohio Attorney General’s Safe at Home program, we provide a program aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence, sexual battery, human trafficking, rape, or menacing by stalking. This program ensures the confidentiality of their personal information to enhance their safety.

Enhanced Confidentiality
Safe at Home logo

Our team assists victims in creating comprehensive safety plans, helping them safely leave a domestic violence situation.

Safety
Planning
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We offer FREE transportation services to and from court for cases related to domestic violence, human trafficking, or sexual assault. Additionally, we provide transportation services within a 250-mile radius to shelters or safe houses for individuals affected by domestic violence.

*Medicaid waiver accepted for transportation.

Transportation
Services
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We assist victims ands survivors with obtaining safe, temporary housing as well as permanent housing. Permanent housing may include things such as the first month's rent and/or deposit. It may also include utility deposits.  (We do not pay back bills.)

Housing Placement
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Map of the State of Ohio's counties with the one's SPR serves outlined in purple

SPR supports victims who live in Southwest Ohio including the following counties: 

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  • Clark

  • Greene

  • Miami 

  • Montgomery

  • Shelby

Our Service Area

Tips for Staying Safe

Types of Abuse

The following list is from the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

    • During an argument, or if you feel tension building, avoid areas in your home where weapons might be available – the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom or workshops.

    • If there are weapons in your household such as firearms – lock them up!

    • Know where there is a safe exit from your home – a window, elevator or stairwell.

    • Discuss the situation with a trusted neighbor if you can. Ask them to call 911 if they hear a disturbance. Find a code word to use with them if you need the police.

    • Always keep a packed bag ready.

    • Know where you would go to be safe if you have to leave, even if you don’t really think you need to.

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    REMEMBER THAT NO ONE EVER DESERVES TO BE ABUSED. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!

    If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

    • Open a bank account in your own name.

    • Give an extra set of keys, copies of important documents, extra clothes and some money to a trusted friend or neighbor in case you have to leave quickly.

    • Think about who your best resources are if you need to find shelter or money.

    • Have cell phone or change on hand to make emergency calls.

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    REMEMBER THAT YOUR SAFETY AND THAT OF YOUR CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS COME FIRST.

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    Things to take with you:

    Identification:

    • Birth certificate(s)

    • Driver’s License/ Military ID

    • Social Security Card(s)

    • Passport(s)

    • Insurance documents

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    Financial:

    • Money/credit cards

    • Checkbooks, bankbooks

    • Savings bonds

    • Food stamps

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    Legal Papers:

    • Copy of your Order of Protection

    • Car registration/insurance papers

    • Copy of lease/ deed to home

    • Medical and school records

    • Separation/custody papers

    • Power of attorney/will

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    Other:

    • Medications, prescriptions

    • Keys to home and vehicles

    • Address book/telephone cards

    • Clothes

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    Additional steps you can take once you have left your abusive situation:

    • Keep your Order of Protection with you at all times.

    • Give photocopies of your Order of Protection to your children’s school, your employer, your neighbors, as well as your local police department.

    • Change the locks on your doors.

    • Discuss safety plans with your children.

    • Inform children’s school about who has permission to pick up your children.

    • Ask neighbors to call the police if they see your abuser nearby. Show your neighbors a photo of the abuser and tell them about your Order of Protection.

    • Ask someone to screen your telephone calls at home and at work.

    • Have someone escort you to your car or walk with other people if possible.

    • If communication is necessary between you and your partner, meet in public places or have a third party make contact and relay messages.

    • Talk with people who can provide you with support on domestic violence issues.

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    ALWAYS CALL THE POLICE IF YOU ARE CONCERNED FOR YOUR SAFETY!

  • The Power & Control diagram is a particularly helpful tool in understanding the overall pattern of abusive and violent behaviors, which are used by a batterer to establish and maintain control over his partner. Very often, one or more violent incidents are accompanied by an array of these other types of abuse. They are less easily identified, yet firmly establish a pattern of intimidation and control in the relationship.

     

    This diagram assumes she/her pronouns for survivors and he/him pronouns for partners. However, the abusive behavior it details can happen to people of any gender or sexuality.

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    Moreover, the wheel diagram serves as tactics abusive partners use to keep survivors in a relationship. The inside of the wheel makes up subtle, continual behaviors over time, while the outer ring represents physical and sexual violence. Thus, abusive actions like those depicted in the outer ring reinforce the regular use of other, more subtle methods found in the inner ring.

  • Documenting the warning signs of dating abuse (in every form that it occurs) will help provide proof of your partner’s behavior if you ever need it, for legal reasons or otherwise. For some survivors, it can simply be useful to validate your experience and process complex emotions.

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    Ways to document abuse include:

     

    • Keeping a journal of what you experience, including descriptions of how the incident made you feel.

    • Writing down statements you, your partner, or any witnesses make before, during, or after the abuse.

    • Recording dates, times, and descriptions of incidents. If furniture is overturned or items were thrown, describe the scene and take photos of the damage.

    • Documenting any injuries, no matter how small (with photos if possible).

    • Seeking medical care, even if there are no visible injuries, especially if you have been strangled or choked.

    • Filing a report with the police, if you determine that it’s safe for you to do so.

  • Documentation can be an important way of substantiating claims that your partner is abusive.

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    Threats and other controlling behaviors often occur online or over the phone, and your partner may even admit to abusing you in a message or post intentionally or unintentionally. If you intend to eventually seek legal recourse, evidence of the abuse will be important to building your case.

     

    Evidence of digital abuse is often fleeting and may be easily deleted, whether by accident or intentionally. Take steps to secure documentation of any digital abuse you’re experiencing by:

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    • Printing out emails or call logs that contain evidence or information about the incident. Make sure the printout includes the sender, recipient, date, and time.

    • Printing out text messages or taking pictures of a phone display containing the message, contact information, date, and time.

    • Printing screenshots of social media posts that contain evidence of abuse. This may appear in the form of admissions of abuse, threats of violence, or even photos that you didn’t consent to. Check your profile as well as your partner’s for evidence.

    • Recording voicemails of abuse including the time and date of the message.

    • If you don’t have a cell phone, camera, computer, or other technology to help you document abuse, consider visiting a public library to access computers and printers (and possibly rental photo equipment) to compile evidence of abuse. Friends, loved ones, or community organizations may also be able to lend you technology or help you document abuse.

    • Make sure all your documentation is stored in a place that your abuser is unable or unlikely to look. Be creative in how and where you store evidence. Examples of ways to safely and creatively store digital evidence include:

      • Creating a separate email address for the sole purpose of documenting abuse. Store everything you write as saved messages and compile photos in one place (just be sure not to use the account for other purposes).

      • Memorizing passwords you create and avoiding mentioning plans to people electronically — your partner might be monitoring your movements through your texts or social media.

      • Having a back up drive to upload any important documents or information.

      • Using a password-protected online journal (taking care to keep your password private).

      • Hiding printed evidence in a place your abuser won’t look, like a separate room or hidden in the basement.

  • This kind of documentation is a deeply-challenging step in the aftermath of abuse.

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    Your safety should always be your first priority, but your long-term well-being depends on seeking support from someone you trust, as well as medical attention. If you intend to pursue criminal legal charges against your attacker, you’ll also need to take steps immediately after the incident to document the abuse before cleaning yourself or changing clothes.

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    If you’re sexually assaulted, try to get to a safe place away from your attacker where you can think through your next steps. You may be scared, angry, confused, and hurt — remember that the abuse was not your fault.

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    Steps to consider next:

    Contact someone you trust. Having someone there to support you after experiencing sexual assault can help you express and process complex feelings in a way that doesn’t threaten your safety, and can give you room to focus on your healing while they help with everything else. It’s often useful to speak with a counselor, sexual assault hotline, or support group if you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to a friend or family member. 


    Go to an emergency room or health clinic. It’s extremely important for you to seek health care as soon as you can after being assaulted. You can expect to be treated for any injuries, offered medications to help prevent pregnancy and/or STIs, and have tests run to ensure your long term well-being. There may also be sexual assault advocates in the area who can assist you and answer any questions. A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) can provide these services and collect evidence in case you decide to pursue legal action in the future.


    Report what happened. If you determine that it’s safe for you to do so, you may report what happened to law enforcement to pursue criminal legal recourse against your attacker. If you decide to do so, it’s important that you do your best to avoid altering or destroying any evidence of the attack to prepare a stronger legal case. That means don’t shower, wash your hair or body, comb your hair, or change your clothes, even if it’s hard not to. If you’re nervous about going to the police station, it may help to bring a trusted friend with you, keeping in mind any relevant safety considerations for them as well.

  • Physical abuse is one of the most easily identified types of abuse. It involves the use of physical violence, or threats of it, to maintain power over an individual. Because of this, survivors are afraid and uncertain when more abuse will occur. This often reinforces the regular use of other, more subtle, types of abuse.​

    ​

    • You might be experiencing physical abuse if your partner has or repeatedly does any of the following abusive behaviors:

    • Pull your hair or punch, slap, kick, bite, choke, or smother you.

    • Forbid or prevent you from eating or sleeping.

    • Use weapons against you, including firearms, knives, bats, or mace.

    • Prevent you from contacting emergency services, including medical attention or law enforcement.

    • Harm your children or pets.

    • Drive recklessly or dangerously with you in the car or abandon you in unfamiliar places.

    • Force you to use drugs or alcohol, especially if you have a history of substance abuse.

    • Trapping you in your home or preventing you from leaving.

    • Throw objects at you.

    • Prevent you from taking prescribed medication or deny you necessary medical treatment.

  • Emotional abuse includes non-physical behaviors that are meant to control, isolate, or frighten someone. These behaviors are often more subtle and hard to identify but are just as serious as other types of abuse.​

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    • You may be in an emotionally- or verbally-abusive relationship if your partner attempts to exert control by:

    • Calling you names, insulting you, or constantly criticizing you.

    • Acting jealous or possessive and refusing to trust you

    • Isolating you from family, friends, or other people in your life because it makes someone easier to control.

    • Monitoring your activities with or without your knowledge, including demanding to know where you go, who you contact, and how you spend your time.

    • Attempting to control what you wear, including clothes, makeup, or hairstyles.

    • Humiliating you in any way, especially in front of others.

    • Gaslighting you by pretending not to understand or refusing to listen to you; questioning your recollection of facts, events, or sources; trivializing your needs or feelings; or denying previous statements or promises.

    • Threatening you, your children, your family, or your pets (with or without weapons).

    • Damaging your belongings, including throwing objects, punching walls, kicking doors, etc.

    • Blaming you for their abusive behaviors.

    • Accusing you of cheating, or cheating themselves and blaming you for their actions.

    • Cheating on you to intentionally hurt you and threatening to cheat again to suggest that they’re “better” than you.

    • Telling you that you’re lucky to be with them and that you’ll never find someone better.

  • Sexual abuse is when a partner controls the physical and sexual intimacy in a relationship. This often involves acting in a way that is non-consensual and forced.

     

    You might be experiencing sexual abuse if your partner has or repeatedly does any of the following:

    • Make you dress in a sexual way you’re uncomfortable with.

    • Insult you in sexual ways or call you explicit names.

    • Force or manipulate you into having sex or performing sexual acts, especially when you’re sick, tired, or physically injured from their abuse.

    • Strangle you or restrain you during sex without your consent.

    • Hold you down during sex without your consent.

    • Hurt you with weapons or objects during sex.

    • Involve other people in your sexual activities against your will.

    • Ignore your feelings regarding sex.

    • Force you to watch or make pornography.

    • Intentionally give you or attempt to give you a sexually transmitted infection.

  • Financial or economic abuse occurs when an abusive partner extends their power and control into your financial situation.

    Below are ways to identify the different types of abuse in your relationship pertaining to financial abuse.

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    Examples of financial abuse

    • Providing an allowance and closely monitoring how you spend it, including demanding receipts for purchases.

    • Depositing your paycheck into an account you can’t access.

    • Preventing you from viewing or accessing bank accounts.

    • Stopping you from working, limiting the hours that you can work, getting you fired, or forcing you to work certain types of jobs.

    • Maxing out your credit cards without permission, not paying credit card bills, or otherwise harming your credit score.

    • Stealing money from you, your family, or your friends.

    • Withdrawing money from children’s savings accounts without your permission.

    • Living in your home but refusing to work or contribute to the household.

    • Forcing you to provide them with your tax returns or confiscating joint tax returns.

    • Refusing to provide money for necessary or shared expenses like food, clothing, transportation, medical care, or medicine.

  • Digital abuse is the use of technology and the Internet to bully, harass, stalk, intimidate, or control a partner. This behavior is often a form of verbal or emotional abuse conducted online. 

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    Examples of digital abuse

    • Telling you who you can or can’t follow, or be friends with on social media.

    • Sending you negative, insulting, or threatening messages or emails.

    • Using social media to track your activities.

    • Insulting or humiliating you in their posts online, including posting unflattering photos or videos.

    • Sending, requesting, or pressuring you to send unwanted explicit photos or videos, sexts, or otherwise compromising messages.

    • Stealing or insisting on being given your account passwords.

    • Constantly texting you or making you feel like you can’t be separated from your phone for fear that you’ll anger them.

    • Looking through your phone or checking up on your pictures, texts, and phone records.

    • Using any kind of technology (such as spyware or GPS in a car or phone) to monitor your activities.

    • Using smart home technology, smart speakers, or security cameras to track your movements, communications, and activities.

    • Creating fake social media profiles in your name and image, or using your phone or email to send messages to others pretending to be you, as a way to embarrass or isolate you.

     

    Things to consider when dealing with digital abuse

    • You never have to share your passwords.

    • You don’t have to send any explicit pictures, videos, or messages that you’re uncomfortable sending (“sexting”).

    • Sexting can have legal consequences: nude photos or videos of someone under the age of 18 could be considered child pornography, which is illegal to own or distribute.

    • It’s okay to turn off your phone or not respond to messages right away. You have the right to your privacy. (Be sure that the people who might need to reach you in an emergency still can.)

    • Save or document threatening messages, photos, videos, or voicemails as evidence of abuse.

    • Don’t answer calls from unknown or blocked numbers; your abuser may try calling you from another line if they suspect that you’re avoiding them. Find out if your phone company allows you to block numbers (and how many, if so).

    • Once you share a post or message, it’s no longer under your control. Abusive partners may save or forward anything you share, so be careful sending content you wouldn’t want others to see.

    • Know and understand your privacy settings. Social media platforms allow users to control how their information is shared and who sees it. These settings are often customizable and may be found in the privacy section of the website. Know that some apps may require you to change your privacy settings in order to use them.

    • Be mindful when checking-in places online, either by sharing your location in a post or posting a photo with distinguishable backgrounds.

    • Ask your friends to always seek permission from you before posting content that could compromise your privacy. Do the same for them.

    • Avoid contact with your abuser in any capacity, through technology, online, or in person. Consider changing your phone number if the abuse and harassment don’t stop.

  • Sexual coercion lies on the continuum of sexually aggressive behavior. It can range from begging and persuasion to forced sexual contact. But even if your partner isn’t forcing you to perform sexual acts without your consent, making you feel obligated to do them is still sexual coercion.

    No matter what type of relationship you are in, you never owe your partner intimacy of any kind.

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    Ways sexual coercion can occur

    • Implying that you owe them something sexually in exchange for previous actions, gifts, or consent.

    • Giving you drugs or alcohol to “loosen up” your inhibitions.

    • Using your relationship status as leverage, including by demanding sex as a way to “prove your love” or by threatening to cheat or leave.

    • Reacting with sadness, anger, or resentment if you say no or don’t immediately agree to something, or trying to normalize their sexual demands by saying that they “need” it.

    • Continuing to pressure you after you say no or intimidating you into fearing what will happen if you say no.

  • Reproductive coercion is a form of power and control where one partner strips another of the ability to control their own reproductive system. It can be difficult to identify this form of coercion because it’s often less visible than other types of abuse occurring at the same time and may appear as pressure, guilt, or shame about having or wanting children (or not having or wanting them).

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    Examples of reproductive coercion

    • Refusing to use a condom or other types of birth control.

    • Breaking or removing a condom before or during sex, or refusing to pull out.

    • Lying about methods of birth control (i.e. having a vasectomy or being on the pill).

    • Removing birth control methods like rings, IUDs, or contraceptive patches, or sabotaging methods by poking holes in condoms or tampering with pills.

    • Withholding money to purchase birth control.

    • Monitoring your menstrual cycles to inform their abuse.

    • Forcing pregnancy or not supporting your decisions about when or if to have children.

    • Intentionally becoming pregnant against your wishes.

    • Forcing you to get an abortion or preventing you from getting one.

    • Threatening you or acting violent if you don’t agree to end or continue a pregnancy.

    • Keeping you pregnant by getting you pregnant again shortly after you have a child.

  • Stalking occurs when someone watches, follows, or harasses you repeatedly, making you feel afraid or unsafe, and may occur from someone you know, a past partner, or a stranger. This can include different types of abuse. 

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    Stalking can look like:

    • Showing up at your home or workplace unannounced or uninvited.

    • Sending you unwanted texts, messages, letters, emails, or voicemails.

    • Leaving you unwanted items, gifts, or flowers.

    • Calling you and hanging up repeatedly or making unwanted phone calls to you, your employer, a professor, or a loved one.

    • Using social media or technology to track your activities.

    • Spreading rumors about you online or in person.

    • Manipulating other people to investigate your life, including using someone else’s social media account to look at your profile or befriending your friends in order to get information about you.

    • Waiting around at places you spend time.

    • Damaging your home, car, or other property.

    • Hiring a private investigator to follow or find you as a way of knowing your location or movements.

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