The Louisiana iris is characterized by its strength and resilience in the hot and humid climates it is native to, re-growing each spring despite the difficulties it faces. That unwavering spirit is why the flower is demonstrative of the survivors of domestic violence at Iris Domestic Violence Center, Executive Director Patti Joy Freeman said.

Located in Baton Rouge, Iris provides free housing, resources and legal representation to survivors of domestic violence and their children. Iris is the largest domestic violence organization and shelter in Louisiana.

“We serve eight parishes through Iris Domestic Violence Center,” Freeman said. “There are only 16 shelters, so all parishes in Louisiana are split between those 16 shelters, so we serve a population of over 850,000 people, just Iris alone.”

Domestic violence is a “pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship,” according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. This can include various types of violence, including emotional, physical and financial abuse.

Survivors of domestic violence usually return to their abuser seven times before breaking free of the relationship, Freeman said. Because of this, the support Iris provides survivors is crucial to their well-being.

“I think getting the information out there so that they’re aware that there are services that can help them escape from that type of environment,” Freeman said. “And secondly, providing those resources that help them stay out of that environment and gain the confidence and the self-empowerment to continue without returning to that type of relationship again.”

Freeman said oftentimes survivors will come to Iris for support, instead of law enforcement. Though Iris provides support to go to law enforcement and the subsequent legal representation at a hearing, Iris doesn’t require survivors to report the abuse they have experienced.

“Of course we want there to be consequences for the offender, but we don’t want to take that choice away from a victim,” Freeman said. “They’ve had enough choice taken from them. They need to feel that they are in control of their own life.”

In 2022, Freeman took the executive director position at Iris just one day after retiring from almost 30 years of experience with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department. At the department, Freeman started and supervised the Domestic Violence Unit. It was with this unit that she first came in contact with Iris.

Iris’ Safe House Sheltering Services house over 500 people per year. Survivors of domestic violence qualify for on-site residence at Iris if they are fleeing violence and are in imminent danger or are homeless as a result of violence. They can stay at Iris for up to 45 days in a private room.

From there, transitional housing begins. The survivor will move to a new room for up to a year as they work toward sustainable employment, a method of transportation and permanent, safe housing. This transitional housing program was started in 2023 to further support Iris’ clients.

Oftentimes, survivors will bring their children to Iris, which accommodates the children and works to support them as well as their parents.

Iris works in cooperation with law enforcement agencies to provide the support officers cannot, including transportation and other services, providing everything the survivor will need in daily life.

“What they need also, and sometimes more importantly, is the support, the resources and the services that provide an outlook that looks other than what they’ve come from,” Freeman said. “Showing them that basically love shouldn’t hurt, and teaching and helping and walking beside them while they learn.”

The most dangerous time for domestic violence survivors is when they leave their abuser. The next most dangerous time is near court hearings, Freeman said. To support survivors through this process, Iris provides free attorneys, representation and advocacy in court for its clients.

Iris’ legal team specializes in protective order representation, completely free of charge regardless of the survivors’ income. If clients have further legal needs, such as divorce or child custody, Iris has a partnership with Southeast Legal, which will provide this representation.

Iris is a nonprofit that heavily relies on government funding and donations. Last year, legislators approved a $7-million increase in funds to be spread between the 16 shelters in the state. To receive this money, each shelter had to outline new services this funding would enable them to provide. This inspired Iris to open a children’s center in May 2024.

This center will provide support for children who are coming from violence, independent of their parent’s needs. Freeman said it’s crucial to remove children from these situations to teach them how harmful abusive relationships are so they don’t repeat this pattern later in life, either as an abuser or as a victim.

“That children’s program is being developed because if we ever hope to reduce numbers in domestic violence then we need to provide care and independent assistance and resources to the children who are introduced to that violent environment, so that they understand that that should not be how a normal relationship looks,” Freeman said.

Legislators promised that the $7-million increase for domestic violence shelters would be provided annually. Despite his call in the legislative special session on crime to uplift survivors, Gov. Jeff Landry has removed the funding for the shelters from the state budget. 

Louisiana has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the country. In 2021, Louisiana ranked fifth in the nation in homicide rates where women are killed by men, and 81% of these in-state homicides were committed by a partner or ex-partner, SAFE Louisiana reported.

Freeman said her first memory is her mother protecting her and her sister from their abusive father. She said she did not join law enforcement because of her personal experience, but her experience has helped her support the survivors who she has encountered during her time with the police and at Iris.

In 2014, Louisiana resident Gwen Salley was kidnapped, shot and killed by her husband who was released from jail on bond after Salley had filed for divorce and a protective order. Gwen’s Law passed in the state in 2017, limiting bail eligibility for domestic violence offenders. At the sheriff’s department, Freeman saw the impacts of the law.

“I really saw the effects and what an impact that law can make, especially on a law enforcement level,” Freeman said. “We can provide statements, photographs, video, everything and anything because the judge needs to make an educated assessment of violence or danger and risk against that offender before setting bond.”

Freeman worked closely with survivors of domestic violence during her time in the police force. She said this experience has impacted the support she is able to provide survivors at Iris.

“It made me understand clearly that the services of Iris are absolutely a need in this community – or in any community really,” Freeman said. “That the outreach and education, along with the services and resources that are provided by organizations such as ours, are a necessity.”

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This article has been updated to properly reflect when Iris’ children center will open.