Anonymous For a while now, I have been supporting a friend whose sibling was in an abusive relationship. My friend, so near and dear to my heart, was struggling both in supporting her sister, as well as being around her abusive partner. The partner’s controlling behavior was concerning to say the least- monitoring texts, phone calls, and Facebook, instigating fights with her family members and then…
This week’s post is a guest post from Survivor M, a member of our Survivor Speakers Bureau. As a mom, one of my prouder moments is when someone tells me how polite my kids are. I am polite and like to think they learned from my example. My parents raised me to be polite and agreeable. They were Irish immigrants. They worked a lot and were…
We may still be in the thick of winter, but spring is right around the corner! Or, at the very least, REACH’s Spring Training is right around the corner. Generally, we offer this training for new staff and volunteers, but it is also open to community members who want to learn more about domestic violence. Last year, Officer Kathleen Poirier of the Wellesley Police Department joined…
by Paul Crocetti “Everybody’s happy there.” That was the joyous sentiment of an attendee of REACH’s annual Holiday Gift Party, as she waited for volunteers to bring her gifts. This year, 300 people – domestic violence survivors and their families – attended the party and 250 families received gifts through REACH’s Holiday Gift Program. The evening also featured crafts for children, a delicious dinner donated by…
By Santa Claus As you may know, December is a busy time of year for me. I spend a good deal of time at the mall (where you might have seen me) asking kids what they want for Christmas and posing for pictures. Not to mention supervising all of the elves at the North Pole, making my list and checking it twice! But no matter how…
This week’s Halloween-themed blog post is from Survivor MC, a member of our Survivor Speakers Bureau. During Halloween season it’s fitting to speak about scary movies, spookiness and wearing masks. For Halloween you get one day to be someone else: a super hero, a funny character, stepping back in time or the future and choosing to wear a scary mask. There are several kinds of masks:…
The following words are adapted from a speech given by M, a participant in REACH’s Community Program and Survivor Speakers Bureau, at the 2016 Reach for the Stars Gala last Saturday. She brought a ballroom full of people to their feet with her courageous words, and we wanted to share them here for those who weren’t able to attend, or who wanted to read them more…
On Saturday, September 10th, REACH held the 7th Annual Waltham Neighborhoods Fall Festival. You may have seen posts on our social media or read the official recap. But we wanted to bring you the perspective of someone from the community, so you could hear firsthand why she chose to get involved, and what the experience has meant to her. Nicole Waxmonsky has brought her love of…
Every year, the Reach for the Stars Gala provides a night of catching up with old friends, making new ones, exciting bidding over auction items, delicious food and drinks, music, all while learning about the work REACH does. There’s no way we could pull off an evening this spectacular without the help of our amazing event committee members, who start planning almost a year in advance….
Last week, REACH’s staff meeting featured a discussion on race and privilege, led by several staff members who had attended a workshop called “Undoing Racism” with the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond. In this week’s blog post, one of our Community Advocates (whose name we can’t share for confidentiality reasons) shares her thoughts:
