LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- Volunteering with local law enforcement , Shaquille O'Neal has learned from his peers that domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous for police officers . NBA star Shaquille O'Neal praises Karen Earl for her efforts on behalf of domestic abuse victims . `` [ It 's ] a very disturbing thing , '' said the NBA star , who has dealt mainly with children 's cases . `` I do n't really think a lot of women know what to do . '' That 's where Karen Earl comes in . As executive director of the Jenesse Center , the oldest domestic violence intervention program in south central Los Angeles , California , Earl is a `` tireless and fearless '' champion of women and children living in abusive situations , O'Neal said . The Phoenix Suns center called Earl `` the pillow of women 's society . '' For more than two decades , Earl has helped give victims a way out through the Jenesse Center , which provides shelter , education , outreach and legal services to more than 8,500 victims of domestic violence every year . `` Thank God for Miss Earl , '' O'Neal said . `` She takes women that have been involved in domestic abuse situations and gives them a place to come rest their head . '' According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence , an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year , and one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime . Earl has heard countless stories of domestic abuse and has seen a range of tipping points before victims seek help . She is working to lower these statistics . She recalled one woman whose husband beat her with an iron ; for another , `` the beatings were standard , but when he sold their refrigerator and she could n't keep her baby 's milk cold anymore , she knew it was time to go . '' These women were able to find shelter and support -- and ultimately safety and success -- through the Jenesse Center . `` It is not normal to go to bed afraid , '' Earl said . `` And the thing that I know for sure is that there is help . '' When Earl began volunteering at the center in 1986 , she said , she often thought of what her own mother went through . `` I remember us having to run out of the house at midnight with sheets wrapped around us . I know the impact it had on my mom , and of course the impact on me and my siblings , '' she said . `` I wish there were a place back then , but nobody talked about it . It was just family business ; it was personal . '' Watch Earl discuss the center 's mission to heal through art » . Today , Earl serves as Jenesse Center 's executive director and calls her work with staff , fundraising and volunteer recruitment `` a 24-hour thing . '' The process of healing for victims generally starts with a phone call to the center 's hot line , she said . The center provides counseling and literature and has a 30-day emergency shelter for women and their families . Earl said this emergency period `` is a time of regrouping '' and lets the women know that they 're not alone and that they did n't do anything wrong . The center also provides long-term support . `` Women and their children can stay for two years , '' Earl said . `` Every able body , every day , gets up and takes classes . And when they 're not taking classes , they 're looking for employment , going through counseling sessions or [ getting ] legal assistance . '' For Earl , comprehensive care through a team approach is the key to the center 's success . She said she has seen women at the center earn graduate degrees and become `` full-fledge '' professionals -- and that changing lives is what keeps her going . O'Neal said the center helps point women in the right direction and gives them the chance to overcome adversity . `` They 'll help you get an apartment . They 'll help you get a job . They help you get back on your feet and become the beautiful woman that you are . ''
O'Neal 's work in law enforcement taught him the serious nature of domestic violence . His hero , O'Neal , runs the Jenesse Center , which aids abuse victims . The Earl center helps an estimated 1.3 million victims every year . The center gives women a chance to overcome adversity , the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence said .