As promised, here is the second installment for the Brave Woman campaign. You can view my first post and learn about why I’m fighting to stop domestic violence.
She would have turned 30 on Christmas Eve. As I celebrated with my family, I thought of her mom and how I’m sure her heart was aching, how her heart was breaking, how it is shattered. I should have picked up the phone and told her that I was thinking of her, but I never know what to say. I’m no good with words, which is part of the reason I blog. I can type all day, my words flow on paper and on the screen, but I cannot string my words together aloud.
What I can do? I can and will do a lot. I will do for it for Monica, for her sweet mama, and for all who miss her. We will do this together.
What YOU Can Do
- Take the pledge and make a stand for human dignity and safety for women and children.
- Become an advocate. This is so, so important. Contact your legislators, review the laws in your state, speak out against domestic violence. Do not be silent. Never be silent. We must advocate for those that are unable to do it for themselves. We must advocate for the families shattered by domestic violence.
- Volunteer at your local women’s shelter.
- Donate supplies to a women’s shelter.
- Host an event to raise awareness. Invite your friends to take part in a conversation, get people thinking, and end the silence that so often surrounds domestic violence.
If you think for a second that domestic violence has no effect on your life, think again. Here are some sobering statistic:
- Every 15 seconds in America, a woman is abused.
- One of every four women falls victim to abuse at some point in their lives.
It could be your daughter. It could be your niece. It could be your mother, your neighbor, or your best friend.
Or like me, it could be your beautiful 28 year old cousin.
Whatever you do after reading this post, do something. Do it for the women, like Monica, who cannot do it themselves.
You can find Brave Woman on Facebook and Twitter.
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All thoughts and emotions expressed remain my own.
How heartbreaking. I’m so glad you are bringing awareness. My mom is a survivor of domestic violence. It kills me when I think about the things I saw, heard and seeing her cry from fear.
Oh my goodness. There are no words for such loss; I am so sorry. I know how painful it must be to talk about it so thank you for sharing her story and helping to raise awareness. And, don’t worry about not having the right words to say. There never are any “Right” words for something this awful. Just the fact that you are thinking of your aunt and her beautiful daughter will really mean a lot to her, I promise you.
Thanks for being open enough to share something that is so hard for you. You’re changing lives just by sharing your cousins story. You are BRAVE!!
Wow, I knew some of that story from you but those photos are so haunting. Thank you for opening your heart to us.
Thank you for sharing this story! The personal, real element is certain to inspire others to act on their own behalf, as well as to encourage woman to stand up and support each other!
This breaks my heart. It is great that you are being proactive and inspiring others to become more aware and do something to help. Thanks for sharing your story and continuing to talk about it.
http://myamaternity.blogspot.com/