Our Guiding Principles

  1. We believe that all people have the right to live without fear of violence, abuse, or oppression.
  2. We believe that domestic violence serves as a functional and purposeful behavior that the batterer chooses in order to obtain and/or maintain power over the victim. That dominance is evidenced through a pattern of coercive control, and inclusive of physical, sexual, verbal/emotional, psychological, and economic abuse.
  3. We promote safety, well-being, and justice for all battered persons while respecting the adult survivor’s right to self-direction and control over their own lives. Crossroads’ programs are based on a trauma-informed voluntary service model. This philosophy acknowledges peoples’ competency and offers them support, resources, advocacy, information, and education. We believe that survivors can break the cycle of domestic violence through supportive intervention because they possess the ability to make decisions that foster healthy, violence-free relationships.
  4. We affirm that batterers, not victims, are accountable for their abusive behaviors.
  5. We are committed to fostering changes necessary to eliminate personal, institutional, and cultural oppression and violence. We believe that ending violence requires connection and collaboration with organizations and individuals, especially those who are/were battered, to create a clear vision and collective voice for social and systemic change.
  6. We are committed to advancing the communities’ responsibility for stopping the violence.
  7. Crossroads offers services to all victims of domestic violence regardless of race, color, ethnicity, age, gender, religious preference, disability status, sexual orientation, past or present involvement with substance abuse or mental illness, military or veteran status, or any other traits that are protected under local, state, or federal law.