More than three million children witness domestic violence in their families each year. Three million. Think about that for just a moment, and your heart hurts. The things they’ve seen, the things they’ve heard, the travesties they’ve endured, for most of us this is simply unimaginable.
47 percent of the children that arrive at Saint John’s suffer from anxiety or depression as a result of their homelessness, and more than 70 percent of our women and children are coming from a life where domestic violence was prevalent. While most programs that address domestic violence serve the needs of the women that are being abused, and they should, it is of the utmost importance that the children do not get left behind in this nurturing, healing process. We get that.
At Saint John’s, we focus on whole person care for both the clients AND their children. Not only are we able to provide them with a safe and stable environment, but from Day One, the needs of our children are immediately addressed with wrap-around services including social and emotional screening, outreach and referral services, one-on-one and family therapy and educational coaching. From Day One, the nurturing and healing process begins.
The month of October is recognized nationally as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in support of this campaign, Saint John’s has been invited, for the third year in a row, to participate in Allstate’s Purple Purse Challenge. Some 220 nonprofits across the country have united in competition to raise funds for life-changing services to help domestic violence survivors, with weekly added financial incentives and prizes awarded to the organizations that raise the most funds.
Please help us help our children, and our moms, by donating today to our Purple Purse Challenge fundraising effort. We simply cannot do what we do without support from our generous donors!
Blog by Sue Cawdrey
Grants & Communications Manager
Saint John’s Program for Real Change
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