Share The Pain for Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And we are calling on you to SHARE THE PAIN by participating in our third annual CrossFit™ workout to benefit the Tennessee Domestic Violence Helpline.

The workouts will be available on October 2 and October 30 at select Nashville area CrossFit™ gyms. If you prefer to work out at home, we’ll have the Share the Pain Workout of the Day video available online. For $30 you’ll receive a Share the Pain t-shirt custom made by Barbell VooDoo and receive the Workout of the Day via email. Most importantly, you’ll be supporting the work we do to help domestic violence survivors and their families.

In 1989, Congress passed a law designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Since then, communities across the nation have used this month to elevate survivors’ voices and illuminate the truth about domestic violence. The sad reality is domestic violence is prevalent in each and every one of our communities. It does not discriminate based on age, race, gender, religion, or income level. Domestic violence is a systematic pattern of dominance and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It runs the gamut from physical violence to emotional abuse and other manipulative behaviors. It can result in physical injury, psychological trauma—and tragically—even death.

At Nurture the Next, we invest considerable resources into operating the Tennessee Statewide Domestic Violence Helpline. Our organization’s mission is to see all children in Tennessee thriving in safe, stable, and nurturing families and communities. Since children are completely dependent on their parents, few things interrupt their stability at home like domestic violence.

When someone calls the Domestic Violence Helpline, they’re immediately in contact with a trained counselor who can help with safety planning and connect them to resources in their local community.

But we know that leaving an abusive relationship is a process, not an event. Research shows that a victim usually reaches out for help seven times before they feel confident in establishing a permanent path to safety. At the same time, their child’s well-being, and even their life, can be dependent on finding that path.

We’re addressing this issue in two ways: by making it easy for individuals to connect with our services and by ensuring children remain a priority in this process.

First, we are implementing texting support for our 24/7 domestic violence helpline. Picking up a phone to call for help in a home that’s unsafe, and where your actions are likely closely monitored, can be a challenge, and even dangerous. Our texting feature provides additional options for someone seeking help, so they can access our support in the safest way for them.

Additionally, we’re bridging the divide between Domestic Violence Shelters and the Department of Child Services (DCS). Currently, shelters and DCS have different ways of keeping children safe and away from violence. We want to be certain that efforts to protect children from unsafe environments don’t lead to unintended consequences that negatively impact children and their development, such as separating children from their parent who is escaping a dangerous situation. By facilitating training and providing technical support between these two organizations, we will continue to advocate for children and ensure their safety is at the heart of the solution.

The easier we can make it for victims to access help, and facilitate better outcomes for their children, the sooner their abuse will end, and the safer these families will be.

We hope you’ll decide to champion survivors and SHARE THE PAIN this October.