Wednesday, June 13, 2012

UPDATING MY COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS

Here is some information on two important Groups that I was able to help bring some awareness to. So glad That I was able to be a part of it as well.

DVIS
Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Inc. (DVIS)/Call Rape, a Tulsa Area United Way agency, is the only nonprofit agency in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the surrounding communities to provide comprehensive intervention and prevention services to men, women and children affected by domestic and sexual violence. The DVIS/Call Rape mission is to rebuild lives affected by domestic violence and sexual assault through advocacy, shelter, counseling, and education.

Family Safety Center
They do a lot. Check out their homepage:

Brave Women Project
Brave Woman is a grassroots movement designed to shift personal and public perception of women in domestic violence situations from a victim mentality to one of courage and strength required to take action moment-by-moment to change their lives. The outcome is enhanced community awareness and an increase in women seeking healing services to move into a life of healthy independence.

Brave Woman seeks to support and encourage the critical decision maker in an environment of domestic violence….the woman experiencing the abuse. Low self perception and self-esteem are often the consequences of a life of abuse and is, unfortunately, often reinforced by community perceptions. Without shifting our perceptions and that of the individual, we cannot hope to lessen the impact and end domestic violence.  Domestic violence affects one out of every four women in their lifetime. These astounding statistics do not account for the residual effect on children and families. For example, every year, 3.3 million children are exposed to violence against their mothers or female caretakers by family members. 50% of men who assault their wives also abuse their children. Brave women have a lot of considerations to sift through before, during and after making the decision to leave.

Brave Woman is not a cause, but a culture shift partnering with service providers around the country.  Much like breast cancer, which wasn’t spoken of for many years, awareness leads to healing and a higher level of support during the process of recovery. We intend to do the same with domestic violence.

Our ultimate goal is to build a community of awareness and action among women experiencing family violence, community champions, law enforcement, legal system, civic/social and church groups, family members and others.