Buffalo Family Crisis Center recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness month
BUFFALO — For 31 days each October, the Johnson County Family Crisis Center brings attention to Domestic Violence Awareness Month with purple-hued signage and social media posts reminding the community that love shouldn’t hurt.
Dawn Branaman, the center’s director, wants people to remember that survivors live with the issue year round.
The Family Crisis Center is a private nonprofit organization that supports individuals and families affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and elder abuse.
Branaman has worked at the center for 13 years. Since she started, she said, there is more acknowledgment that domestic violence happens in the community.
From July 2024 through June 2025, the center provided services to 98 people in Johnson County — which is a steady year, Branaman said.
“Most of these numbers reflect community members, so there’s a good chance that everyone in this town either has been impacted themselves by domestic violence, or knows someone who has been impacted by domestic violence,” she said. “Coming to terms with that makes it so that we’re less likely to victim blame and more likely to be supportive.”
Domestic violence, which is a pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship to exert power and control over another person in that relationship, goes beyond physical abuse and includes emotional and financial abuse.
“I think people are understanding that domestic violence has many different layers,” Branaman said.
Of individuals who sought services from the center last year, 14 were male.
“We are getting referrals from prior survivors that we’ve worked with who are reaching out to others and saying, go talk to them,” Branaman said. “The uptick in males coming in, they’re being taken seriously. I’m sure there’s still some who would say, ‘Well, how could a guy be beaten up by a woman?’ It’s not necessarily that.”
Men can experience physical abuse by their women partners, Branaman emphasized, but the abuse can also be emotional. Gender aside, it can be especially difficult if children are involved and one partner is threatening to withhold custody from the other, she said.
Generally, in romantic relationships, abusers typically work to isolate their partner from family and friends. Common tactics include incessant calling and texting when they’re apart. An abuser will likely try to keep their partner from spending time with loved ones and might even physically move them away from their support systems, Branaman said.
“A lot of it is emotional abuse, stripping away their confidence, their identity, so that they are just a mere shell of who they once were,” she said. “They never want to do the social things that they once did, these are all red flags for me looking at a friend’s relationship.”
Someone concerned that a loved one is in a potentially abusive or unhealthy relationship should approach the person without judgment, Branaman said. At times, it’s most effective to introduce a neutral resource, such as the Family Crisis Center.
Often, people who are being victimized by an abusive partner will initially defend their partners’ actions, Branaman said. The most important thing for a loved one to do is to continue to let them know they have their support and to keep the door open.
“Because the abuser is banking on the isolation and the severing of all the support systems,” Branaman said. “So as long as those support systems are like, ‘Hey, I don’t care what happens. I am here for you. You can always call me...’”
The Family Crisis Center can be reached by phone 24 hours a day. Branaman said that advocates can provide help over the phone or meet at their office or somewhere off-site.
With just two employees, most of the center’s work is providing direct services that are always free and confidential.
“Our job is to really help them stay safe and feel empowered to make decisions for themselves,” she said. “We’re doing the trench work, the front-line stuff. But prevention is key. If we’re going to end this, we have to have that education.”
The center has had programs in place for middle and high school students that included conversations about healthy and respectful relationships, but those require volunteers and funding.
In the absence of official programs, these are good conversations for parents to have with their children, Branaman said.
When funding is tight, prevention services are typically the first to be cut, she noted. The center is supported by state funding from the Wyoming Division of Victim Services, city of Buffalo and Johnson County 1% funding and private donations and grants.
“When it comes down to it, you’re going to prioritize, and that’s providing direct services,” Branaman said.
Another prevention measure is implementing harsher consequences for domestic violence convictions — and, importantly, shifting responsibility from victims to abusers by calling out their behavior, she said.
“Our goal would be to work ourselves out of a job,” Branaman said. “Unfortunately, that’s not happening, so we’re just thankful we’re here to provide these services to the folks who need it.”
If you are facing abuse, you are not alone, help is available. If you are in imminent danger, call 911. If you are unable to contact law enforcement directly, there are confidential resources that can support you; call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
This story was published on Oct. 23, 2025.