'Her Girls' are Domestic Violence Victims

In a lovely southern accent, Dr. Kathryn Melton, explains why she's made some enemies along the way.

"In my line of work," said the founder of the Paulding County Domestic Violence Shelter, "you do make enemies. Oh, I've been threatened."

She remembers a time she and her daughter were out in public and someone behind her yelled an expletive-filled message to her. She just ignored him.

But there are more people lining up in Paulding County to sing her praises than not.

“She has sacrificed a much more personal and glamorous career for the privilege of helping these very desperate women in need,” said Cynthia Geyer, Hiram’s city administrator and clerk. “She is highly respected in public safety circles—but is a relative unknown if you do not have a reason to seek her out.”

It was almost 15 years ago that Melton, who has a PhD in counseling, and a band of locals first opened the shelter. Women would show up at Melton's counseling office and need help.

They would have to go outside the county if they wanted help, Melton said. There was no place in Paulding for them to go. When she saw the need, she jumped at the opportunity to help.

People donated items, furniture, clothes anything the shelter might need.

People would say, "Are you that doctor that's starting the domestic violence shelter?” The group rented a house and opened their doors. The women are allowed to bring their children.

There is a house mother that stays with the women and children, but Melton says she spends most of her time there. The women that come in have sometimes been abused for a long time.

They get hurt by their husband or boyfriend, then minimize it and move on.

"Normal is what normal is to you," Melton said. "You start shutting down emotionally."

Melton has seen some pretty rough stuff. One woman had been shot by her mate; another was killed when she went back home. When men threaten, Melton listens. Some of the women are in very scary situations, she said.

"The public doesn't understand," she said. "You can't take anything for granted."

There are the bright moments. A woman at the shelter recently obtained a college degree.

"We were all so proud of her," Melton said.

Melton grew up in Georgia. She's careful not to give out too much information about anything. The houses the women live in are a huge secret, for obvious safety reasons. On a recent warm morning, she met a stranger at a nearby church to talk.

Melton grew up on a farm, where she had five siblings, and graduated from Milton High School. She and her husband had three children and she went to school at night.

"God's hand is in the middle of everything I'm doing," she said.

She had a diverse career before going into counseling. She worked at a hospital as a patient care technician among other jobs. But it's her love of "her girls" that gave her the motive to quit private practice and work at the shelter.

"I love them tremendously," Melton said. "My joy is seeing them take the power back."