This is part two of a two part series about DVSAS, their advocates and  future plans for the prevention

By Cali Bagby

Suzi Marean’s own experience as a survivor of assault and childhood abuse has helped her to become an advocate. She recalls one point in her own therapy when she decided she was no longer going to be a victim. After working as a chemical dependency counselor she eventually came to Lopez in the 1980s and later started working at DVSAS as the sole advocate for the island. Six years later she is finally stepping down and handing the job over to Kim Bryan.

Bryan worked as a pediatric nurse for 16 years and was the director of a domestic violence shelter in Spokane for 10 years. She moved to San Juan Island about a year ago to work for DVSAS. She and her husband plan on moving to Lopez this month.

Bryan is also a survivor.

And during her time as a pediatrics nurse she often saw victims come through the door who had been abused.

“I felt like I was patching up injuries and thought I had to get to the other side to prevention,” Bryan said. “It just breaks your heart.”

A dark underbelly

Most of the phone calls Marean has received are domestic violence issues, and over time she has watched transformations from women who have gained self confidence and self worth.

On the down side, Marean has been exposed to the dark underbelly of Lopez Island.

When she first moved here, Marean thought of it as an idyllic place with peaceful and pastoral scenery -— away from the crime, drugs, rape and violence of big cities on the mainland. But she said all those things can happen here as well.

She said she wishes she would have reached out to the community to raise awareness about these issues, because she still encounters people who don’t believe sexual and domestic violence occurs on the islands.

“It happens in unexpected ways, in people you wouldn’t think,” Marean said. “There is not personality profile for victims and perpetrators, it crosses economic, social, educational and professional barriers.”

And as the economy continues to deteriorate, Marean said people’s use of drugs and alcohol will increase — and with that comes violence.

The future

DVSAS will continue its outreach to youth, teaching the fundamentals that protect and educate children and prepare them for situations off and on the island.

Bryan will be working with each community and hosting forums to talk about violence on the islands.

“These types of issues are like mold that grow in the dark, we want to shatter the silence,” Bryan said. “It really takes a village to keep our own kids safe.”

She hopes to get DVSAS into the schools to discuss health boundaries and age-appropriate tools to deal with possible dangerous situations.

Marean officially retired at the end of the year, but says she’s never been busier. She has already taken on the task of chairman of the board for the Lopez Island Prevention Coalition.

And she’ll go on with the optimism that is fundamental at her core.

“I had a challenging start as a kid, but I don’t look at that as a defect,” Marean said. “I look at what has happened to me as building blocks that have shaped the person I am today.”

And if people in crisis call her at home, she will still be there for support before passing the call to DVSAS. She will continue to speak these words:

“Yes, I know it hurts and it’s real and what has happened to you has given you the right to go through grief. Honor those feelings, and then you can move through to the other side.”

To get more information or become a volunteer call 468-3788. If you need to talk to an advocate call the 24-crisis line at 468-4567.