For people experiencing domestic violence in the Catskills and Northeast Pennsylvania, help is available through local programs that provide confidential support, shelter and advocacy.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an opportunity to recognize less visible forms of abuse and remind survivors and their friends and family that resources are available.

Ericka Thaxton with Victims Intervention Program, or VIP, which serves Wayne and Pike counties in Pennsylvania, says domestic violence can include much more than physical violence.

Emotional and psychological abuse, sexual violence, financial control, digital harassment and isolation can all be forms of abuse, she says.

Some warning signs can be difficult to recognize, particularly early in a relationship. Thaxton says controlling a partner’s finances, demanding access to passwords or messages, or gradually separating someone from friends and family can be signs of an abusive relationship.

She says isolation is particularly common.

“A healthy relationship consists of three things,” Thaxton said. “It consists of partner A, partner B, and the life that partner A and B have together.”

Thaxton also cautions against asking why someone experiencing abuse doesn’t simply leave. She says leaving can be the most dangerous and vulnerable period for a survivor because an abuser may escalate efforts to regain power and control.

VIP operates a 24-hour hotline and provides emergency shelter, counseling, support groups, and legal and medical advocacy. Services are free and confidential and are available to survivors and others affected by domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking or other major life traumas.

VIP’s hotline numbers are 570-253-4401 and 570-296-HELP. More information is available at vipempowers.org.

Thaxton says people outside Wayne and Pike counties can find similar programs in their own counties.

Oct. 15 is Purple Thursday, a national day of awareness. Thaxton encourages people to wear purple, share their support and use the occasion to start conversations about domestic violence.