With so much going on, it slips my mind at times to update some of my most important people...you! I know to many, the steps for opening a domestic violence shelter are still a mystery, so I am going to try to uncover some of the mystery with this blogpost. I have been extremely excited to meet with people in the field of domestic violence, like Roseanne Cupoli from The Spring of Tampa Bay, who has given me a lot to think about from her perspective of working at a domestic violence shelter for fifteen years that was the first of its kind with an on-site school. I have additionally been blessed to meet with professionals at the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center like Mary Stolz-Newton, Assistant Director; Amy Nickell, Volunteer Coordinator; and Perla Rodriguez, Coordinator of Program Services, all three of whom have shared vast amounts of knowledge in accordance with their areas of expertise. And who could forget Dung Kimble, Program Director, of StepStone, who shared with me the challenges and rewards of working in a transitional housing facility that supports survivors of domestic violence? Dung's passion and energy for helping women and children victims (with the capacity to help men) shone through during our conversation, and she gave me a lot to think about by raising questions of her own as well as answering mine. I also was blessed to meet with Sylvia Rodriguez, Advocate for Victims of Crime in the Wichita Police Department, who shared with me the variety of resources that are available to victims of crime and their families, as well as the way that she unwinds after a challenging job that deals with secondary trauma on a daily basis. And I am still benefiting from check-ins with my mentor, MJ Park, of Little Friends for Peace based out of the Washington, D.C. metro area.
These are just a portion of the incredible people with whom I have been able to meet. Rest assured that I will continue to share my positive connections and interactions with all of you beautiful people, and if I have had the pleasure of meeting with you and it is not reflected in this blogpost, it will be in the future! I thank all of you for not only the impact you have made in my life, but also the future impact that your contributions will have on my domestic violence shelter in Cochabamba, Bolivia! ******************************************************************************************* How to Help Those Mentioned Above: Little Friends for Peace: Donate. Volunteer. Service Project. Internship. Partner. The Spring of Tampa Bay: Donate. Donate Goods.Volunteer or Host an Event. Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center: Volunteer. Donate. Attend an Event. Stepstone: Target Gift Registry for New Housing Facility. Volunteer. Donate. Wichita Police Department Victims of Crime Unit: Donate. Corporate Partner. Donate a Car.
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AuthorValerie Ellis, who is in alignment with the Black Lives Matter Movement and everyone whose life is impacted, now or before, by times of social injustice. Archives
July 2022
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