Education is still the key focus during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. A few weeks ago I was working a conference display on behalf of Hope for Healing. Org. The dwindling stack of brochures were encouraging but a few of the comments demonstrated that more work needs to be done.
Don't get me wrong. This was one of the better conferences that we have ever attended. Most of the people who picked up the information did so because they are at least somewhat familiar with family violence.
Things were different when we first began attending conferences back in 2002. People would pick up a fact sheet or brochure, glance at it and put it back on the table before walking away. Several times over, I was questioned on the need for the display. The task seemed so impossible that I wanted to throw my hands in the air and quit. But, I didn't.
A decade has passed since then. A stray comment doesn't happen as much anymore. Efforts like Domestic Violence Awareness Month every October give advocates everywhere a chance to catch the public's eye. It's easy to pass by a single table at a conference. It's a little harder to pass by the table, ignore the news article on the TV, click beyond the internet headlines and avoid people who are wearing the purple ribbons. And that, my dear friends, is why participating in Domestic Violence Awareness Month is so important.
Participating isn't hard and it isn't expensive but it is necessary. Set up a display in your church. Call a local shelter for brochures to put next to the office coffee pot. Tape a fact sheet next to the company time clock or add a line to the daily company email. Wear a purple ribbon.
These things are within the grasp of most people and aren't time consuming. We've made a lot of headway in the last decade. With this kind of progress the display might not be needed in another ten years. Wouldn't that be cool? It's possible and it can start with educating others during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
