For almost a year now, I have been involved with five other women who have personally survived domestic violence (DV), and from that we have started a movement to help others come out of the shadows to find help. The organization’s name is “Putting The Broken Pieces Back Together Again”. Its founder, a woman who after overcoming DV, went on to become a successful, strong woman who works on Wall Street with a heart for others who are in abusive situations. She envisioned a safe and loving place for people to come to find hope, help, and restoration, with the resources to get their lives turned around. We are not quite a year old yet, and this movement has already gone into overdrive. Similar organizations involved in DV have contacted us to partner with them, and we continue to get calls for help by not only women but men and teenagers as well. We’ve been able to get several women into “safe houses” already, find them jobs and get them into counseling with some of the healing centers we are working with. In this short amount of time, we have learned how widespread DV is and how many forms it takes. When people hear Domestic Violence they think of a husband and wife, where one or both are physical with each other. It is so much broader than that and it happens in more relationships than just marriage. DV consists of any abuse or harm to a person that takes place within a relationship and it doesn’t respect race, gender, position, age or financial status. Along with the physical abuse, emotional and mental battering, belittling and control are other forms of behavior it can show up as. Somewhere through time we have learned to minimize and dismiss this type of abuse. Too many people wind up feeling “stuck” in these situations, having lost their voices and their hope of change. They live in fear, anxiety and shame. For some it is just “normal life” because it is all they have ever known. We get to tell those who reach out to us that it’s not normal and they can do something about it. We help them find the courage to stand up and say “Enough”! We can be role models for each other. We can speak up and come out better and stronger for it. We teach them that God loves them, we love them, and that they are worthy to be treated with love and respect. If you know someone who is in a DV situation or you yourself are in one, there is hope and there is help! Please don’t hide in the shadows any longer. You are not alone and there is no shame on you either. The shame is on the abuser! The first step to freedom is just reaching out. You are not alone. Putting The Broken Pieces Together Again is just one of the many organizations who care and will help you. Our contact number is 718.238.4000. Ask for Vickie. #nomorehidingintheshadows #nomoredomesticviolence #itmuststop #dontremainavictim#morepowerfulthanyouthink #Puttingthebrokenpiecesbacktogetheragain #rewardscoaching #bebrave