CLIENTS PROTEST OUSTER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BOARD QUESTIONED.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A handful of people gathered Tuesday evening to protest the ouster of the executive director of Santa Clarita's Domestic Violence Center, a woman some credited with turning their nightmarish lives around.

The group called for the resignation of the board and reinstatement of Kathie Mathis, executive director of the center for two years.

``They just kind of let her go, left hundreds of women just kind of dangling,'' said Lisa Hall, a client of the center who said she left an abusive marriage of 14 years.

Mathis, who led the center for two years, said she was not told why she was fired early this month by the organization's six-member board. Board President Darlene Fink refused to comment, other than to say Mathis' dismissal was ``in the best interests of the association.''

But those who gathered Tuesday evening outside the 20-year-old center's headquarters in Newhall during a board meeting said Mathis had helped them make monumental changes in their lives and that she and they were owed explanations.

``The board president wouldn't even come into the room when they came into the center to ask what happened,'' Mathis said. ``These are clients who feel revictimized by the board of directors by their actions.''

Just three of six board members showed up for Tuesday's meeting and welcomed comments from the protesters, who were allowed to enter the meeting individually.

``I'd like to see Dr. Kathie Mathis reinstated,'' client Janet Trotter said. ``She is the center. I feel the center needs her. I feel the Santa Clarita Valley needs her.''

The center remains open, said Rita Siegel, a volunteer who works in the office.

``Whatever is going on, the agency is functioning and functioning well,'' Siegel said, noting just a small number of the center's 2,000 to 3,000 clients were protesting. ``All the services we've always had are available to those in need.''

The center offers shelter for abused women and their children, counseling and referral services, an emergency hotline, emergency food supply program and counseling groups for abusive partners.

The past year has been a troubled one for the center. The board canceled its New Year's Eve Bootlegger's Ball, a longtime fund-raiser, and closed the organization's New to You Thrift Shop, another source of income.

Mathis said, however, she had not been given any warning that her job performance was in question.

While free counseling will continue through the center, Mathis continues to meet with some clients voluntarily, she and Hall said.

Hall, a 37-year-old mother from Saugus, said she was a victim of domestic violence during a 14-year marriage. She came to the domestic violence center a year ago and has been counseled by Mathis, who is known to her clients as ``Dr. Kathy.''

``She's been phenomenal,'' Hall said. ``She empowered me. She kind of brought peace to my life.''

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com