Local domestic violence and sexual assault refuge house to start podcasts

A local refuge house that has been serving the Chippewa Valley since 1976 is implementing a new way to reach those affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.

The Bolton Refuge House is starting a new podcast that talks about domestic violence and sexual assault.

According to Bolton Refuge House staff, the new podcast offers another way to educate the public about these issues and the resources that they offer.

Podcast co-host and Bolton Refuge House staff member, Olivia Blaylock, explained why breaking the silence about domestic violence and sexual assault is so important.

“We’re talking about all things domestic violence and sexual assault, and the podcast’s name is silence no more”, Blaylock said. “We are trying to break the silence, because it is a topic that no one really likes to talk about, so we’re breaking the silence about domestic violence and sexual assault, that’s our goal.”

Blaylock, said she is excited to be doing the podcast, but admits that there are challenges to overcome.

“There are some challenges with podcasting; time is kind of a challenge with trying to get within a 30 minute time limit”, she said. “We also have funding as a challenge. We have to pay for the host and things like that and we’re non-profit so that is probably one of the biggest challenges is finding funding.”

Blaylock says that the show aims to tell people’s experiences with domestic violence and sexual assault to use it as an educational tool.

“We’re trying to do people’s stories, so we have stories of people who have been through their situation because we do find that they are their own experts in their lives”, Blaylock said. “So we use their stories along with something educational.”

Blaylock said that the experience is very rewarding and that she is excited for the future of the new podcast.

“It’s super rewarding, especially because it’s been a little more successful than we anticipated”, she said. “We have people in shelter who have mentioned things and they get really excited about it. So yeah, it’s super rewarding, it’s super fun, and I’m excited to see where this goes in the next six months.”

New episodes of the podcast will be produced every Tuesday with the segment name, Tidbit Tuesday.

Additional episodes telling people’s stories about sexual assault and domestic violence will be produced every other Thursday.

When asked if they plan on bringing in experts to add professional expertise, Blaylock said that they will have a variety of guests on the show.

“We bring in all kinds of experts”, said Blaylock. “We have a psychiatrist that’s coming on sometime soon, we have our legal advocate, we just did a show with Deputy Chief Chad Hoyer, but yes, we do bring in experts.”

For more information about the podcasts and to listen to them, For more information about the podcasts and to listen to them,