December is

usually a slow month for the staff of the Fayette County Council on Domestic

Violence.

With the holidays

approaching, many victims are trying to hold their families together so

the children can experience the holidays, said FCCDV Executive Director

Linda Wells.

"We have

a lot of women saying, 'I'm just holding on until after the holidays.'"

Wells said. Statistics show that families are at greater risk of violence

when the victim tries to leave with the children, she added.

"The abuser

feels like his control is threatened," Wells said. "Women are

at far greater risk when they decide to leave."

The holiday

season gives some victims hope that their family troubles will finally

change, Wells added. But by the time Christmas comes, many victims have

already decided to leave their abuser, she added.

"Everybody

wants to believe that this time, that it's different... but it isn't,"

Wells said.

Even though

the agency experiences a dropoff in victims in December the agency has

already helped 13 family violence victims this month, Wells said. Usually,

the agency handles half that many cases all December, she added.

This year has

already been busier than 1999, with 356 clients served as of Monday morning

up from 330 a year ago, Wells said.

The FCCDV serves

Fayette, Spalding, Pike and Upson counties, but approximately 80 percent

of its clients are from Fayette County, Wells said. The agency offers

a variety of free services for victims of family violence, including:

Legal representation

for seeking temporary protective orders.

Emergency

counseling.

A weekly support

group that meets Thursdays from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

A food pantry

that also has toiletries and personal hygiene items for victims trying

to get on their feet after leaving their abusers.

FCCDV also

has a transitional house program for families, although it charges a minimal

operating cost, Wells said. The Lighthouse consists of five apartments,

the largest of which could house a mother and up to five or six children,

she added. The maximum monthly fee for that apartment is $450.

Victims at

Lighthouse must either work full-time, go to school full-time or do both

part-time, Wells added.

For information,

phone FCCDV at 770-460-1604.