REACH’s work with immigrant survivors of domestic violence is nothing new. We have deep roots in Waltham, a diverse community with one of the largest and fastest-growing Latinx populations in the state. We are proud to serve any and all survivors, regardless of where they come from, how they got here, or what their immigration status is. Everyone has a right to feel safe in their…
For some people, the days and weeks since the new presidential administration took office have seemed to be one piece of bad news after the other. Some of us have our legislator’s office on speed dial, calling endlessly to protest attacks on healthcare, civil rights, immigration, climate protections, trade partnerships, foreign interference, and other issues that affect us and those we care about. It gets to the…
This week’s post is a Q and A with our friend Gabriel Fontes, who interned with us last fall and has stayed on as a volunteer. Gabriel is a student at Brandeis University and leads workshops on Bystander Intervention. Since we are coming to the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we asked Gabriel if he would talk to us about the work that he does….
The commonly held definition of abuse, which we use in all of our trainings, is “a pattern of behavior used by one person to gain and maintain power and control over another.” One thing to note about that definition is that we are talking about a pattern of behavior, in other words, not just one incident. These behaviors can take on a number of different forms….
Longtime REACH supporters Liz & Pete Carpenter and Pat & Clint Moon are this year’s Reach for the Stars Gala Co-Chairs. We are delighted to have their positive energy and professional strengths lead the committee to make this fundraiser another successful one. Read on to get to know a little bit about them. Tell us about yourselves. Pat: I am a Boston girl, having grown up…
This week’s guest blog post is from Janiah, one of the Peer Leaders in the PAVE (Peers Against ViolencE) club at Waltham High School. Hello, my name is Janiah Marrero and I am an officer in the PAVE (Peers Against ViolencE) club at Waltham High School. Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is in February and our main focus is helping educate teens on this serious topic…
This week we wanted to highlight one of our dedicated volunteers, Annie Toth. Read on to get to know a bit about her and her experience volunteering with REACH. Tell us a little bit about yourself I have lived in the Boston area for the past 14 years and moved to Waltham 3 years ago after purchasing a wonderful little fixer upper bungalow that I have…
This week’s blog post is from C, a member of our Shelter staff. Professor and author Derald Wing Sue describes micro aggressions as “every day verbal, nonverbal and environmental slights, snubs or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.” and over time, these experiences have a toxic impact on our psyche….
One of the themes that comes up over and over again as we listen to survivors of domestic violence tell their stories is that of isolation. We are often asked why someone would stay in an abusive relationship. There are so many reasons someone might stay; what we have found is that isolation is one of the most powerful tactics abusers use to keep the survivor…
This week’s blog is by one of our Community Advocates, whose name we will withhold for confidentiality reasons. Recently I had the wonderful experience to be part of the Massachusetts Victim Assistance Academy (MVAA) which is conducted by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) and other community agencies.
