DV Awareness Activities

There are lots of events happening now that Domestic Violence Awareness has begun.

One event that I must mention was the Herberger showing of Domestic Violence...the Musical? Since working with John and Linda King, I was very excited to see the performance on Sept. 22nd and it was awesome. Please take a look at the website and the photos from that show. I strongly encourage you to bring this one hour enlightenment to your community. It's one of the most powerful ways to teach people "why she doesn't just leave".



A very fun event that Bravery had the opportunity to participate in was the Girls Night Out at Dolce Salon and Spa, Arrowhead location in Peoria. What a fun night that was. Little did I know that we would be hosted at a three story building with a live band on top with wine and food, musician at the first floor with spa services, and a Bravery gallery on the second floor. It was a wonderful evening with a program featuring Ali Vincent, the first female winner, of the hit TV show The Biggest Loser.

Although the evening sports lots of girly activity, GNO is important because it raises money for programs that provide shelter and services to victims. So far there are 12 of them happening this month around the country. Way to Go!

Coming up next Monday is the Mesa Community College Domestic Violence Awareness Conference that you all should definitely visit. Visit the webpage that features the program with all the workshops and keynote. This is going to be a knockout experience. It's a community event open to the everyone and I guarantee you will learn something new and interesting about domestic violence. Additionally, 9 of the original portraits from Bravery are on display in the lobby of the Paul Elsner Library throughout October.


I have decided to add a little more to my plate and participate in the Purple Ribbon Study Circles that was created by the Purple Ribbon Councel. This is a pilot program in which community and industry people come together for one meeting a week for one month and discuss the issues about domestic violence and how to help solve them. YES! It takes only a couple of hours a week and refreshments are provided. I will write about this more in upcoming posts as it's an important tool for problem solving. If you are interested in more information about it and want to participate, please email Sowmya Ayyer.

Speaking of which, stay tuned because after the events are over, I will be sharing a lot of new useful information gleaned from all of these activities. In the meantime, I hope to see you.

braveryproject.org

The official Bravery website is now up, but still under construction. Although I will be working on it for the next few days, it's close enough to change your links and share the new site with people. I plan to add more content about domestic violence and where to get help in addition to volunteer needs. The logo isn't quite ready, but will be very soon. Feel free to provide feedback. We'll know in a few months whether the site will become permanent. Less than four months till showdown!


I've been telling people about the wonderful product that microsoft.com has provided called Office Live. I am using the basic package for both of my websites that includes free hosting and a one year free domain registration domain. The program is very easy to use--no code. Thank goodness because I wrote almost all the code for another website, rwalkerdds.com, including the writing and all graphics from scratch. That is very time consuming for one person. With MS Office Live, a template and some creativity is all that is needed.

Once you get your business off the ground and need to add more interactivity, MS Office Live provides additional products, like internet marketing and online purchasing features that you can buy as upgrades. So far, so good. People tease Microsoft about buggy programs, but I've had vflorschuetz.com with them for almost a year and have had little problems. Any that I've had were corrected immediately.

In case you are wondering, no I am not being paid by Microsoft for this plug. Not a bad idea though!

Bravery Book - The First Year

An idea has been rattling around inside my head for a few weeks. The portraits garner such attention when people see what they are about, why not bring them from the website and into people's physical hands. Yes, I am talking about a book. I am talking about the full fledged first year of Bravery in color. What an excellent way to reach out to more people about the cause and continue to bring the positive influence of recovery.

A few things need to happen before the book can be pitched to a publisher:

A revised model waiver has been created that must be signed by all the earlier people in the program. It covers publishing and a couple of other things like you are 18 years old and of sound mind to sign the release, meaning I didn't drug you or win a bet to get you to sign up. Please contact me about this if you are interested.

I will need someone who is important to write a forward. This is a crucial key in marketing the book to publishers and to the public. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have someone like Oprah, Tina Turner, Farah Faucett, someone famous and influential who understands first hand about domestic violence. Send any ideas on this as I am sure there are many people that could be approached.

Another idea is a book of abused animals with essays. Something like this would be helpful for people like Rhonda who started helpushelpthem.org. I really enjoyed making Henry's portrait. When working on these pieces, it feels like I am getting to the know the person or the pet as I try to capture their personality or through physical expression and artistic license.


FYI: In 1964 the Haven House was the first shelter in the US to assist abused women and children. They educate youth about domestic violence and led a two day workshop at a highschool that included an art competition. Below is the link to the one day show. Check it out!
It's Not Okay - Teen Dating Violence Art Exhibit

A Mother's Solution

A couple of days ago I met with a beautiful young lady, Valerie, who was hesitant to share that she was a survivor. After visiting my website, she emailed me one day from work about her startup nonprofit geared toward teen dating violence. We met at Starbucks to talk about how our organizations might help each other and much to my gratefulness, she decided to share her story and have her portrait done. I want to thank her for coming forward.

**I named the organization, Bravery for a reason: that there is no shame in being a survivor. We are ALL survivors of something in life and the whole point of the portraits is to turn that word victim around to the positive and hold your head up with a determined smile and show the world who you are today.

Valerie has a sister, Vanessa, who authored a book called A Mother's Solution, which is about a mother's perspective on her daughter's abusive relations with a boy she is dating. Below is a synopsis from Vanessa's website.

Evelyn Hill leads an upscale suburban lifestyle that includes a loving husband and two wonderful children.

Happiness quickly turns to terror when the family falls prey to a violent thug-like character from down the way. He enters their lives by dating Evelyn's teenage daughter and later sends their lives spiraling out of control.

Follow this gripping tale of a mother's love and the journey she willingly took when it is discovered that she and her mysterious client are the brains behind murder.

Valerie explained that teen violence is escalating at alarming rates. For instance, for women, ages 15 to 30, homicide resulting from domestic violence is the number one killer. Forty percent of teenage girls ages 14-17 say they know someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend. Why is this?

vanessacollier.com (Take a look at the video interview on Midday Arizona.)



Links on teen dating violence:
Dating Bill of Rights
Real Teens Talk
Teaching Materials for Teen Dating Violence
See It And Stop It

The Continuum

I don't know about everyone else, but 2007 has moved like a movie on fast forward. There are many things I had planned to do and never fulfilled. Now that Christmas has come and gone, we are faced with the idea of a new beginning--psychologically anyway. Many people will think of January as the start date of a diet and exercise plan or the time to set goals to finish projects. Calendars are like the "matrix" of our minds this time of year. I am not immune to the excitement of a clean calendar; however, thanks to the portrait project, this year is a little bit different for me.

The Bravery project started out as a discussion between me and my husband while sitting on the porch in Prescott late last summer. What began as a thoughtful conversation has become a driving force in my life--a dream with a clear plan and purpose. It's easy to think of all the separate things I want to start in 2008, but what strikes me most is the continuum of this project. In otherwords, what really matters at the turn of the year is the consistent efforts we make towards our goals and dreams, not the new ones we set for January 1st.

Time can be put into perspective by simply thinking of what dream you have and starting it NOW. There isn't any reason to wait. In fact, some of the most successful people are those who know what they want, work out the steps, immediately begin action, and stay consistent no matter what the calendar or clock says. In fact, that is what victims of domestic abuse have to face in their lives. One major difference, of course, is that you probably won't die from a heart attack if you don't stick to your New Year's diet plan, but a battered spouse could perish from one more beating. One of my volunteers planned her escape for four long years and managed success with thoughtful planning and consistency. When I think of all the wishy washy resolutions that I've made and broken in the past, it makes me see how silly I've been.

Survivors are people who follow the continuum and you can see it if you ever sit down and talk to one. They follow the same philosophy in other aspects of their lives as they continue to heal from experience. Once fearful and timid , they emerge with one of the best lessons in life to fulfill long held dreams and become a fearless mover and shaker in the community. I plan to learn from the inspiration of these people. If I want to change something in my diet, I will begin with my next meal. If I want to learn a new skill, I will begin today. If I want to set and meet new goals, I will plan and start now and continue through the blur of dates until I finish. You could say it's one way of breaking out of the psychology matrix.

So, with that said, I wish everyone a wonderful New Year holiday and success along the continuum of life.

~HAPPY NEW YEAR~

MCC DV Awareness Conference

Last Wed, October 24th, Mesa Community College had a Domestic Violence Awareness Conference with a series of wonderful speakers and workshops. I met a lot of really great people. It was my first experience promoting the portrait project, and I found the whole event very rewarding.

I was really amazed at how many resources there are for this issue. Although I have been looking for organizations to approach about the project, I had never heard of several of the groups represented at the conference. In one way it's wonderful how much service there is; in another way it's not so wonderful how obscure they are. At least they are available and the web really helps to get the word out, but there is always more that can be done.