Each year at the holiday season, in lieu of the more traditional teacher gifts, my daughters and I honor their teachers and the staff at their schools with a donation to a local charity. This year, I asked my daughters, who are 10 and 13, to confer and make the choice of what Charlottesville organization they want to benefit. It took them less than a minute to agree our gift would go to the Shelter for Help in Emergency and I am very proud of their decision.
The Shelter offers a range of services designed to empower and support victims of domestic violence including emergency and transitional housing, a 24 hour hotline, counseling, case management, legal advocacy, children's services and more.
If you are living with domestic violence, be it physical, verbal, emotional or all of these, please know that you are not alone and you are not to blame. As per the SHE website:
The following are some warning signs that you may be in an abusive relationship.Does your partner:Verbally insult, demean or threaten you?Isolate you from friends, family or other people?Organize schedules to follow or harass you?Limit your mobility or access to money?Explode into a rage and assault you physically or sexually?Negate your words, abilities, ideas and actions?Choke, punch, slap, kick or otherwise hurt you?Excuse each attack and promise to stop?If this sounds familiar and you want to seek help, whether you need information, support, or a safe place to stay, there are people who can help, people who will believe you, and people who know that no one ever deserves to be abused.
Their hotline can be reached at (434) 293-8509 V/TTY and they accept collect calls.
Their website is http://www.shelterforhelpinemergency.org. or in Spanish http://www.shelterforhelpinemergency.org/Los_Recursos_Espanoles.html. If you need to study their website in privacy, they have instructions on how to clear the cache on your browser.
Please pass along the word about this invaluable organization. If you wish to make your own gift to the Shelter for Help in Emergency, donations can be made by check and sent to: Shelter for Help in Emergency, P.O. Box 3013, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
While on the topic of domestic violence, I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to read Jamelle's excellent post on Recessions, Divorce and Domestic Violence.
Finally, our heartfelt thanks to the teachers and staff of Virginia L. Murray Elementary School and Henley Middle School for all your dedication, energy and talent. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a peaceful New Year.
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