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Alpha Chi Omega: Real Strong Women

March 8, 2021By

“The fight against domestic violence starts with your friends and family.”   

Ending domestic violence is the national philanthropic focus of Alpha Chi Omega, and members of the University of Kentucky chapter embrace the mission with passion and creativity. 

“Alpha Chi Omega is all about fostering an environment that builds real strong women through their college experience who become contributing members of our society,” explains Tatum Mowery, Chapter President.  

Every semester, members volunteer at the shelter and organize campus-based awareness events like Volley Against Domestic Violence and Donut Let Love Hurt to promote healthy relationships. For the past five years, the sisters have partnered with Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity to host Paint Wars, a popular and fun-filled event that has contributed more than $50,000 to support services for survivors.  

Allyson Carson, the Chapter’s Vice President of Philanthropy, believes contributions by young adults to make positive change often are underrated. “We have the voice to speak out against injustice and the support to do so,” she says. “It starts with us.”     

Supporting Friends and Family

Follow the link above to learn how to support loved ones who are being abused.

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daisy writing21 Years

Daisy’s Story

March 4, 2021By

“For the first time, I finally feel it’s over. This is the first time in 21 years that, inside of me, I know it’s done.”   

I’ve always thought, “Well, he’s gonna get better, he’s going to change, but he’s not going to change. I know this now.  

Since arriving at GreenHouse17 and being safe, it’s my apartment that has brought me the greatest joy. It’s mine. Everything in it belongs to me. On my first night, I sat on my air mattress and looked around and saw that finally this is mine.  

Now, I can have friends. That’s something I’ve not really had in the past. I would have a few girlfriends, but it would always turn into them hating him, and then trying to help me to leave him, and me not being ready to go.  

They asked me all the time, “Well, why don’t you just leave?” Even now, I don’t know. That’s a hard question to ask someone in that sort of relationship. They financially cripple you. Your self-worth is non-existent. There just isn’t any.  

The farm program here was a wonderful thing for me. Many mornings, we would sit there picking beans and just talking and getting it out. The farm is like meditation in a physical form. I loved it.  

When cutting the flowers, I once broke one, and I was devastated. Christina [farm co-manager] said, “Just throw it down, and give it back to the earth.” She convinced me to give it back to nature, and this was one of the best lessons I’ve ever learned in the garden.  

I see myself as self-sufficient, on my own, and strong when looking into the future. I don’t want anything grand like a mansion or Porsche. I just want to be and enjoy the flowers.  

This is only part of Daisy’s story, in her own words, and shared with her permission.     

Support Survivors Today

Follow the link above to donate now.

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Hope Blooms – Summer Flower CSA

February 26, 2021By

“If you are quiet, the flowers will tell you what you need to hear,” says Daisy. “The flowers told me I was beautiful, and that I was good at things. The flowers told me that I could be gentle, and it was just okay to be.”

Soon after arriving at the shelter, survivors are introduced to nature-based healing opportunities on the farm. For some, this could be walks on the farm or eating more vegetables. Other survivors choose to participate in a six-week training program.  

Farm advocates meet with interested survivors to develop individualized program plans that responds to their physical limitations, healing goals, and personal interests.  

“I knew it was going to be interesting the first day on the farm,” writes a participant. “It was hot and humid and there were bugs, but that’s nature. That’s also what really helped me center myself.”  

BENEFITS OF NATURE  

Survivors participate in 10 hours of weekly training and activities on the farm in exchange for a stipend. One hour each week is reserved for reflection on the experience.  

Early spring activities focus on planning and seeding the flowers. As temperatures warm, survivors tend to watering, weeding, and harvesting the beautiful blooms.  

While survivor safety improves and planning for the transition away from shelter begins, farm advocates provide references during the search for employment.  

MISSION SUPPORT  

Shares of the harvest are offered to the public through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) model. Individuals, families, and companies register to receive regular distributions of flowers from the farm during the summer season.

“I absolutely loved the flower CSA,” says previous member Julie Thomas. “I looked forward to my pickup every week and plan to join again this year.”      

Another supporter writes, “The flowers were absolutely beautiful. My heart went out to all those who touched them.”  

Get Notified

Follow the link above to be notified when registration opens.

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The Combahee River Collective

February 23, 2021By

Black women have and continue to be leaders in the movement to end sexual and domestic violence.  

“We are a collective of Black feminists who have been meeting together since 1974.”

These words open The Combahee River Collective Statement published in April 1977, one of the earliest documents to define the movement of Black feminism, especially in the context of lesbian identity. The collective’s name was inspired by the Combahee River Raid coordinated by Harriet Tubman to free slaves in South Carolina.

Founding and early members included Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, Demita Frazier, Cheryl Clarke, Akasha Hull, Margo Okazawa-Rey, Chirlane McCray, and Audre Lorde. Their statement explored the intersections of race and class in the oppression of Black women, while also identifying the privilege and power of white feminism.

“Black feminists and many more Black women who do not define themselves as feminists have all experienced sexual oppression as a constant factor in our day-to-day existence…it difficult to separate race from class from sex oppression because in our lives they are most often experienced simultaneously.”

The collective defined its political position as “a healthy love for ourselves, our sisters and our community which allows us to continue our struggle and work.” This love was enacted during six months in 1979 in a suburb on the south side of Boston during the Roxbury murders.

Two Black women were brutally murdered in January of that year. During the next five months, nine more Black women would be killed. The murders received little to no attention until The Combahee River Collective launched a coordinated awareness campaign. Members canvased the community to alert women of color in the area and published pamphlets that identified systemic racism and sexism as cause for the murders. Their protests and marches shined a light on ineffective police investigations and the lack of media attention.

Although meetings of the collective ended in 1980, the final sentence from their statement gives voice to the continuation of shared commitment: “As Black feminists and Lesbians we know that we have a very definite revolutionary task to perform and we are ready for the lifetime of work and struggle before us.”

This post is part of our Black History Month series celebrating the contributions of Black women in the movement to end intimate partner and sexual abuse. 

Listen to an essay by Audre Lorde

Follow the link to listen to ``There is no hierarchy of oppression`` read by Lauren Lyons

Image credit: This image was created with free-use resources from Smithsonian.org, including an advocacy poster from the 1970s, a sign from the 2020 Commitment March in Washington DC., and an archived photograph of a handkerchief that belonged to Harriet Tubman.  For more information about resources linked in this post, please visit these links:

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FKA Twigs Speaks Out

February 22, 2021By

FKA Twigs recently shared her story of survival in an interview with Gayle King on CBS This Morning. Twigs explains, “I just couldn’t carry it anymore…”

Singer-songwriter FKA Twigs has accused her former partner, Shia LaBeouf, of intimate partner abuse. She is sharing her story to help others spot early signs of abuse and let survivors know they are not alone.

Twigs received support and guidance during a call to a domestic violence hotline. Now, looking back, she identifies early signs of abuse, especially those related to her boundaries.

“He actually would jump over the fence where I was staying and leave flowers outside my door, and poems, and books and I thought it was very romantic. But that quickly changed…”

Lack of respect for boundaries quickly escalated to emotional and physical abuse. When Gayle King asks why she didn’t leave, Twigs refuses to answer the question.

“I’m just gonna make a stance and say that I’m not gonna answer that question anymore. The question should really be to the abuser…’Why are you holding someone hostage with abuse? You know, and people say, ‘Oh, it can’t have been that bad, because or else you would have left.'”

She continues to explain, “It’s because it was that bad I couldn’t leave.”

FKA Twigs shares more of her story in this recent interview with Elle. When asked how it feels to speak out, Twigs says she feels brave. “I just couldn’t carry it anymore…whereas now I feel like I’ve handed his disfunction back to him, and it’s his.”

Lebouf denies the allegations.

Call our 24-hour crisis hotline

Specially trained advocates are standing by to support you.

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Kentucky Proud Virtual CSA FairBlog

Kentucky Proud Virtual CSA Fair

February 20, 2021By

Are you interested in learning more about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

Make plans to attend the Kentucky Proud Virtual CSA Fair. The Organic Association of Kentucky will be hosting farmer live sessions by Zoom  at every day at 1 pm during the week of February 22. Register for one or more of these sessions to learn more about CSA opportunities in your area. Our farm co-manager, Savannah, will be presenting during the live session on Friday!

Monday, February 22 – Western Kentucky (register here)
Tuesday, February 23 – Louisville Area (register here)
Wednesday, February 24 – Lexington Area I (register here)
Thursday, February 25 – Eastern & Northern Kentucky (register here)
Friday, February 26 – Lexington Area II + Danville (register here)

Everyone who attends a live virtual event will be entered in the $100 CSA raffle credit sponsored by Kentucky Horticulture Council. If you’re unable to attend a live session, recordings will be posted in the Facebook event page at this link.

CSA is a membership that matters.

Follow the link above for more information about the #kycsafair

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Kimberlé Crenshaw & Intersectionality

February 18, 2021By

Black women have and continue to be leaders in the movement to end sexual and domestic violence.  

Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the phrase “intersectionality” in 1989 to describe how race, class, gender, and other individual characteristics “intersect” and overlap. The theory allows deeper understanding of racism and sexism in context of the mission to end intimate partner abuse.

For example, how does the intersection of race, gender, and economic oppression contribute to research that finds Black women experience domestic violence at rates higher than white women? Similarly, how do historic racist representations perpetuate today’s higher arrest rates of Black women who are defending themselves from intimate partner abuse?

Professor Crenshaw explains, “If you don’t have a lens that’s been trained to look at how various forms of discrimination come together, you’re unlikely to develop a set of policies that will be as inclusive as they need to be.”

Her groundbreaking work to amplify the voice and visibility of Black women who have survived intimate partner abuse makes our movement, mission, and work stronger. Without understanding the oppression survivors of color face, we can’t provide the necessary support. To effectively serve survivors, we must understand that anti-oppression work is anti-violence work.

Kimberle Crenshaw is Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California. She is co-founder of the Columbia Law School African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and co-authored Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women.

This post is part of our Black History Month series celebrating the contributions of Black women in the movement to end intimate partner and sexual abuse.

What Intersectionality Means to Crenshaw Today

Click on the link above to read Crenshaw's interview with Time Magazine.

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Happy Valentine’s Day

February 12, 2021By

Valentine’s Day is our anniversary! On February 14, 2005, we became a nonprofit organization. Let’s celebrate healthy relationships. Click or tap on one of these Valentine’s Day cards to share with someone special.

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Tarana Burke & the #MeToo Movement

February 11, 2021By

Black women have and continue to be leaders in the movement to end sexual and domestic violence.  

Tarana Burke is known as an activist, community organizer, executive, and founder of the “me too” movement. With over 19 million uses on Twitter in one year alone, this hashtag started one of the most notable movements of our time.

In a Variety article penned by Burke, she explains, “Everyday people — queer, trans, disabled, men and women — are living in the aftermath of a trauma that tried, at the very worst, to take away their humanity. This movement at its core is about the restoration of that humanity.”

The “me too” movement was created to highlight the violence experienced by marginalized women. Along the way, it brought international attention to the universal prevalence of sexual violence. 

Research finds 4 of every 10 Black and multiracial non-Hispanic women in the U.S. report experiencing rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.

Burke is now considered a global leader in the movement to end sexual violence and does so with her theory of “empowerment through empathy.” Her work is changing how we talk about sexual violence and serve survivors.

This movement was built with the intention of collective healing by creating space for survivors to cultivate empathy with one another.

“For too long women and others living on the margins have managed to survive without our full dignity intact,” reminds Burke. “It can’t continue to be our reality.” 

This post is part of our Black History Month series celebrating the contributions of Black women in the movement to end intimate partner and sexual abuse. 

#MeToo and Your Healing Journey

Click on the link above to watch this Youtube video.

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Table top for DV8 Art ContestBlog

Vote for our DV8 Kitchen Table

February 10, 2021By

Your vote for our table at the new DV8 Kitchen location could win a $1,000 prize to support survivors!

In celebration and prep for its new location opening this spring, DV8 Kitchen has organized a fun project! They’re hosting a table painting contest with 14 nonprofit organizations in the recovery community. Each organization partnered with a local artist to paint a beautiful table related to their mission.

We partnered with Kristin Carpenter, a local artist and member of our staff. Her original painting illustrates the benefits of nature-based healing. Lots of sunshine and water nourish flowers and vegetables to grow strong and stand tall in the fields. Our 24-hour hotline in the bottom right corner of the table will help victims and survivors to connect with supportive services.

To vote for Kristin’s table, like the video at this link on the DV8 Kitchen Facebook page. Voting opens on February 10 at 5 p.m. and closes on Tuesday, February 16 at 7 p.m. 

DV8 Kitchen is a local restaurant & bakery that employs people in recovery from substance use disorder who are trying to redirect their lives. Their original location on South Broadway has thrived since opening in August 2017. The new second location will be located in Lexington’s East End at the corner of Midland Avenue & Third Street.

The work of DV8 Kitchen is especially important to our mission. Many survivors struggle with substance use while healing from intimate partner abuse. A strong and supportive community is crucial for those on the path to healing and sobriety. 

Vote for our table!

Follow the link to Facebook to like the video about our table.

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