GreenHouse17 executive director Darlene Thomas has worked in various capacities to serve the population affected by intimate partner violence. Photo by Abby Laub
Pulling up the driveway at GreenHouse17 is a peaceful and idyllic experience. Rolling Kentucky hills are in the distance, and the front lawn is often dotted with children giggling amongst each other or playing with dogs. Perhaps someone is curled up with a book on the swing that hangs from a tree. In the distance, you might spot people milling about flower gardens during warm-weather months. The smell of handmade soaps often fills the air.
With the bustling activity and uplifting sense of community at GreenHouse17, you may never realize that you are standing on the farmland of a domestic violence recovery center.
GreenHouse17 is a shining gem that has risen among the debris and unpleasant reality of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Kentucky. The organization was started and is still led by executive director Darlene Thomas, whose unique and open-minded approach to survivors is one that has challenged traditional methods of thinking about shelters, survivors and recovery.
This month, as a credit to her long career dedicated to IPV survivors, Thomas will be the recipient of the Jean Sabharwal Award, an honor established in 2014 by the organization Bluegrass Families First to recognize an individual or group who has demonstrated passionate advocacy for Lexington’s children and families.
Over the past 34 years, Thomas has served the IPV community in a seemingly unending variety of roles, from social work, mentoring and consulting, to providing testimony for attorneys and training for law enforcement, judges, priests and others on ways to improve their recognition of and reaction to IPV. Her entry into the field came as a freshly graduated young adult, when a friend recommended she apply for an open position at the Spousal Abuse Center. Not knowing such a place existed, she quickly recognized the work as her calling and has stayed rooted in the field ever since.
Located on 40 acres of rural land in Central Kentucky, GreenHouse17 is a safe place where survivors of intimate partner abuse can get emergency shelter, housing and transportation services, safety planning, individual group support and more. Survivors can also choose to help on the farm for a weekly stipend. Photo by Abby Laub
“It’s where I fit, where I grew as a human, as a person, as somebody, as a social worker,” she said. “It just always has felt like this mutual journey between what I could offer and what survivors bring.”
Thomas acknowledges that much of the culture and language around IPV is largely what it resembled decades ago: shelters are expected to be hidden and tucked away and survivors are seen as victims. Early in her career, Thomas knew she had to challenge these antiquated ideas. The safety aspect of being hidden has proven itself invalid, she said, and by hiding our shelters, the people who need them the most can’t find them.
And Thomas emphasizes that being a survivor should never be seen as shameful.
“[Survivors] are quite incredible humans,” she said. “That’s been my life goal, really, trying to get people to see survivors like I do.”
Taking only partial credit for all that GreenHouse17 has come to be, Thomas states that the ideas for many of these developments have come from other staff or even the residents themselves.
“If you can help me understand how it benefits survivors, then it’s my job to figure out how to help make that happen,” she said. Her open-minded mentality has led to the cultivation of an ever-changing and growing set of resources and activity opportunities for the organization. She has also overseen the notable program Handmade by Survivors which allows residents to create candles, soaps, bath salts and other products available for purchase at the GreenHouse17 website and a handful of local retail outlets. Thanks to the introduction of the organization’s revolutionary stipend program, survivors get one step closer to self-sufficiency.
But what Thomas is most proud of at GreenHouse17 is that the organization has created a “culture of ‘yes’ versus a culture of ‘no.’” When considering the array of support that GreenHouse17 offers, she said “I think it’s our job to make sure we build services that meet people where they are, instead of people needing to meet the service.”
Much of Thomas’ career has been driven by her love for survivors. As a child, she witnessed a horrific and public abuse of a woman while dozens of onlookers watched and laughed. She recalled how powerless she felt, standing there unsure of what she could do to help this stranger as a young onlooker. Even though she didn’t understand how impactful it was for her at the time, the memory has stayed with Thomas.
“I watched it and I watched everybody else watch it, and I didn’t know what to do,” she recalled. “Something that I think still drives me today is that I’m not powerless. I’m not powerful either, but I’m not powerless. I believe that sense of powerlessness spoke to me in a way that I don’t ever want to be powerless like that again.”
True to her word, Thomas has devoted her life to using what power she does have to make positive changes for an issue that has largely been swept under the rug for generations. Her far-reaching impact is what led Lexington councilmember Kathy Plomin to nominate her for the Jean Sabharwal Award, which will be presented at a luncheon at The Kentucky Castle on March 8 (ticket sales have already closed for the event).
“She has not only elevated [GreenHouse17] to a nationally recognized domestic violence program but has also taken the reality of domestic violence to a heightened level of awareness,” Plomin said.
Thomas said she was “blown out of the water” when she got the phone call about the award. She knew Sabharwal, who was the pioneering founder of Lexington’s Family Care Center, in her early days in Lexington, and reminisced on how kind and trustworthy Sabharwal had been to her in those days.
“There was no competition. It was really just about the right things to do,” she said. “Jean was very kind and somewhat instrumental in me having some support locally as a brand new young director back then.”
Although delighted and honored by this recognition, Thomas radiated a humbleness as she reflected on it.
“I really believe nobody gets anywhere alone,” she said. “If you’re going to celebrate me, you have to celebrate survivors, staff, everybody that’s touched and bumped along the way.”
While there may be much truth to this sentiment, for now, Kentucky celebrates Darlene Thomas.
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Alltech president and CEO Dr. Mark Lyons surprised Thomas with the news that her organization was receiving a $100,000 donation from the Pearse Lyons ACE Foundation. Photo furnished
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On March 8, the organization Bluegrass Families First will recognize Thomas’s three-decade career by presenting her with the Jean Sabharwal Award at a luncheon at The Kentucky Castle. Photo furnished