Igniting Social Change – With Awareness Comes Action 

On October 20, supporters of Human Options and their friends joined us for our annual Fall Luncheon where we heard stories by survivors of relationship violence and were reminded that we are never done spreading the word and raising awareness about this issue that can impact anyone. Nancy came to the U.S. from Mexico, spoke limited English and eventually found herself in an abusive relationship with her husband and was  living in a state of fear. At a point when her husband was preventing her from seeing her children, Nancy knew she needed to do something to protect them and find a new home. She had the courage to reach out for help and found services and support available through Human Options.  She was able to get the counseling services she needed to help her and her children gain the tools to leave an unhealthy and dangerous living environment.  Joined by her children during the event, Nancy’s story was shared as just one of many brave survivors of relationship violence who have found that, while never an easy decision, there are safe spaces to go when choosing to leave an unhealthy living environment.  The conversation continued with domestic violence survivor, author and reality TV show star Taylor Armstrong, educating the audience about the intergenerational effects of relationship violence and how being exposed to violence as a child can have a direct impact on relationships into adulthood. We go more in depth about this later in our newsletter.  As we continue our mission of preventing relationship violence and protecting and supporting survivors on their journey to healing, we recognize the far-reaching effect of domestic violence on not only the victim, but their family, friends and even those they are acquainted with.