Area man speaks out on domestic violence

Les Paul Morgan, a survivor of domestic violence, was awarded Victor Victorious bear at last year's Love Shouldn't Hurt domestic violence workshop. Morgan carried Victor around with him over the past year to help him share his story. Staff photo by Anna Dolianitis.

Les Paul Morgan, a certified peer supporter with Walton Options for Independent Living, has dedicated his life to raising awareness about domestic violence, particularly against males and those with disabilities, to help prevent experiences like the one that he survived.

Morgan, 49, of Warrenville, suffered a brain aneurysm at age 22 and endured multiple brain surgeries throughout his life, leaving him with lifelong scars, short-term memory loss and a disability that for close to 20 years prevented him from finding work.

"I didn't know it, but I was about to plunge into a life of very severe disability. I don't look like it; I don't appear to have a major disability," he said.

Even before Morgan discovered his disability, however, he recalls another traumatic experience that changed his life.

"My brother died in 1970. ... I was crying over my brother dying (at) 21 years old," Morgan recalled. "I walked over to see him at the coffin by myself, and my father grabbed me by the neck and pushed me down into the coffin and said, 'That's you one day. That's going to be you if you don't change your life.'"

Morgan was 8 years old at the time.

Later, as his father approached the final years of his life, he continued to become violent against both Morgan and Morgan's mother, behavior that Morgan attributed partially to his father's dementia and bipolar disorder that, for a long time, went undiagnosed and his unwillingness to stick to his medications.

He'd often try to fight Morgan and once wielded a tea kettle in Morgan's direction, narrowly missing his head.

Cyndy Anzek, senior director of Walton Options, said that people with disabilities are more likely to become victims of domestic violence.

"The research indicates that people with disabilities are at a higher risk for experiencing domestic violence and also for acquiring their disability through violence," Anzek said.

Morgan's father died at age 80, and, while he said that as a Christian he forgave him for the years of abuse, he knew that things should have been different and set to work as an advocate against domestic violence.

"A real man is willing to tell people what really happened, even if it hurts," he said. "I've walked with these scars for my whole life. I really have. I've been able to do very well despite, but I want people to know that it can happen to anyone, whether you're a tough guy or not; that doesn't matter."

Men can be just as likely victims, but cases of domestic violence are underreported for men even more than for females, often because of the stigma.

"(Morgan) has been so courageous and so brave to talk about his experience and his survival of it, and he wants to spread the word to others that this is sort of a silent epidemic, especially when it comes to males," Anzek said. "You don't have to suffer in silence."

After volunteering with Walton Options, an organization run by people with disabilities to help people with disabilities, Morgan volunteered his way into a job and has been there for more than a decade. The organization has locations in Augusta and North Augusta.

Morgan advises those who have been victims of domestic violence to come forward and seek counseling and not tuck away the pain like he did for a long time.

Walton Options will hold the eighth annual Love Shouldn't Hurt public workshop, intended to help victims of domestic violence by giving an opportunity to hear from experts, law enforcement officers and attorneys about steps that they can take.

The workshop, which will be held at 518 13th St. in Augusta on Tuesday, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Registration will run from 12:30 to 1 p.m.

The workshop will involve a lot of open discussion for those who want to share their experiences, as well as representatives from the Richmond County Sheriff's Office and Richmond County Solicitor's Office, South Carolina Legal Services, Safe Homes of Augusta, the Cumbee Center to Assist Abused Persons and other agencies, Anzek said.

The workshop is open to people of all ages throughout the CSRA, and light refreshments will be offered. People are welcome to bring their children with them if needed.

"The hope is that they will walk away with a clear understanding of the issue of domestic violence and how it impacts people with and without disabilities," Anzek said.

For more information, contact Laura Smith at 279-9611.

Walton Options is a continuum of Walton Rehabilitation Health System.

Anna Dolianitis is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, as well as court and legal matters affecting Aiken County. She has been with the Aiken Standard since August 2010.