The symbolism is plain: Domestic violence and sexual assault are not just women's issues. But board members say the selection of Raleigh attorney Adam Hartzell to lead the agency is pure happenstance.

Kevin Wiley, president of Interact's board of directors, said Hartzell impressed her as able to empathize with the agency's mission. Hartzell, 33, practiced family law before starting at Interact last month. He is the first male executive director in the agency's 19-year history.

"His work in family law has given him a first-hand look at what domestic violence can do to families," Wiley said Wednesday. "We didn't even realize until other people said to us, 'You have a man at the helm of Interact?' It really didn't dawn on us women versus men because we always felt this wasn't just a women's issue."

But Hartzell knows his gender will make some people pay a little more attention to sexual assault and domestic violence. And attention, no matter why, is a good thing, he said.

"This is a family issue, a workplace issue, a school issue," he said. "It affects our law enforcement, our justice system. In tight economic times, we see higher stress levels in families, and that frequently leads to more demands for our services."

Interact employs 25 full-time employees and a corps of volunteers to offer 24-hour telephone counseling and crisis intervention, support groups and a shelter for battered women and their children.

Hartzell said he will launch a campaign to help the community better understand what Interact does in the hope that understanding will lead to more donations.

"In this very tight economy, we are in a situation where if we don't find new ways to get support from the community and make them aware of what we're doing, we won't be able to provide the services we're used to providing," Hartzell said.

Triangle United Way, which is struggling with its own shortfalls, is Interact's largest backer. Over the past three years, Interact's funding has dropped 35 percent. The 2002-03 budget is $1.2 million.

The 2003-04 budget is being developed, but Hartzell said it will likely be trimmed to $1.1 million. As always, Interact will try to avoid cutting services that directly affect clients, he said.