Remarkable Rochesterian: Advocate saved lives while casting light on domestic violence

Let’s honor Phyllis Shames Korn, who can safely say that she didn’t just improve lives here. Most certainly, she saved lives, as well.

Korn is 87 and retired, but the organization she led, Alternatives for Battered Women, now the Willow Domestic Violence Center, has carried on her work.

“Phyllis is in our DNA,” says Meaghan de Chateauvieux, the Willow Center’s president and CEO, citing Korn’s determination to help women in trouble and to make the public aware of the presence of domestic violence.

In 1998, the Democrat and Chronicle’s Susan McNamara profiled Korn, who was retiring after 19 years as executive director of Alternatives for Batter Women.

McNamara wrote that Korn had transformed the agency “from a humble hotline in a church basement into one of New York State’s model programs for victims of domestic violence.”

For her efforts, Korn received a wide variety of recognition, including the 2016 Farash Prize for Social Entrepreneurship sponsored by the Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation. The prize included a $100,000 gift to the agency she had led. Most certainly, she deserves a spot on this column’s list of Remarkable Rochesterians.

McNamara made clear that Korn saw, and responded to, terrible suffering.

“Korn has seen the worst of it,” she wrote. “Pregnant teens with hand imprints around their necks, black-eyed mothers towing whimpering children, bloodied wives cowering at sudden noises.”

But while she witnessed all of this, Korn did not turn away. A woman McNamara identified as Sarah to protect her anonymity, and who was both helped by the agency and a volunteer for the agency, praised Korn’s ability to remain positive.

“She knows there’s a lot of work to be done. But that’s what drives her,” Sarah said. “She has this inner belief that things need to change for women, and she’s determined to do it.

De Chateauvieux says that one secret to Korn’s success was that she came up to solutions to problems: “She went out and figured out how to open a shelter out of thin air. When survivors said, ‘I need help with court,’ she was there.”

Korn also worked hard to educate politicians, prosecutors, social workers, police, and others, about domestic abuse. “People were not talking about this,” de Chateauvieux says. “Phyllis brought people’s attention to it.”

Raising awareness occasionally meant speaking to hostile audiences. “Sometimes it’s necessary to enter the lion’s den if you want to bring about change,” Korn told McNamara.

Korn’s manner, her sincerity, and her charm, worked to tame those lions, to bring them over to her side.

“She’s got such a huge heart,” de Chateauvieux says. “She one of the kindest, most generous people. She’s just lovely.”

The battles that Korn fought are far from over.

Willow is helping, on average, 10,000 people a year. It’s reaching even more through its prevention programs. As the name change from Alternatives for Battered Women suggests, the agency services people of any gender.

The number of people served, which is rising, reflect the pandemic and its impact on mental health, but it also reflects increasing awareness that help is available. People in danger have a place to go. For that, and much more, they can thank Phyllis Korn. She’s a Remarkable Rochesterian, for sure.

Remarkable Rochesterian

For all she’s done let’s add Phyllis Korn to the list of Remarkable Rochesterians that can be found at: https://data.democratandchronicle.com/remarkable-rochesterians/

Phyllis Shames Korn (1937 – ): Starting as a volunteer at Alternatives for Battered Women, she went on to serve as executive director from 1979 until her retirement in 1998, becoming a nationally recognized advocate for victims of domestic abuse. Under her leadership, the agency, which is now known as the Willow Center for Domestic Violence, added a shelter for abuse victims, raised public awareness of domestic violence, began a program for children in abusive homes and created other support programs. A native of Queens, New York, who grew up in Sanford, Florida, and graduated from Barnard College and Syracuse University, the Penfield resident served on state boards and was the recipient of the 2016 Farash Prize for Social Entrepreneurship.

Help for domestic violence victims

The Willow Center for Domestic Violence, formerly Alternatives for Battered Women, operates a 24/7 hotline for people in need of support. Call (585) 222-7233 (SAFE) for help, or text (585) 348-7233 (SAFE)

General information about the Willow Center, which held a domestic violence summit on Oct. 31, can be found online at willowcenterny.org or by calling (585) 232-5200.

From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott, writes Remarkable Rochester, who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454

Link to story on Farash award: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/business/2016/10/06/farash-social-entrepreneurship-award/91660610/

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Phyllis Korn a Remarkable Rochesterian for domestic violence efforts