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…
Next week, REACH will host its annual Holiday Gift Program, which provides gifts to more than 225 families that have stayed in our Shelter or worked with a Community Advocate. We wanted to share with you a special thank-you note we got a couple of years ago that illustrates the impact these gifts can have.
Survivor M (a participant in REACH’s Community Program) delivered these remarks at our 12th Annual Reach for the Stars Gala this past Saturday night. We are reposting them here for anyone who missed it, or wants to read her words for themselves.
Last night, we had a great conversation with members of our Survivor Speakers Bureau (SSB).
On October 18th, we held our annual Reach for the Stars Gala at the Renaissance Hotel in Boston. The event was a huge success and raised approximately $400,000 to benefit REACH’s programs and services. One of the highlights of the evening was hearing from a member of our Survivor Speakers’ Bureau who spoke powerfully about her experience of leaving an abusive relationship with help from a…
One of the survivors in REACH’s Survivor Speakers’ Bureau recently shared her experience with domestic violence and how it impacted her faith. Here is an excerpt from the story she shared. I want to share with you about my experience with domestic violence and how it has affected my faith in God. As a young adult, I moved to Boston to go to graduate school. I…
The following reflection comes from Joanna, a survivor: I saw my abuser for the first time since ending the relationship two years after our final break-up. I had moved across the country, and was back in town visiting family. The two years I had spent away had allowed me time to heal, to process, to recognize how much the abuse had impacted me. From a distance,…
As often as possible, we try to use this blog space to feature pieces written by domestic violence survivors. The following poem was written by Molly (not her real name) to describe how she felt when struggling with domestic violence and substance use. Today Molly is living on her own, has regained custody of her kids, and has been sober for over a year. We share…
Now that Domestic Violence Awareness Month is over, attention in the REACH office turns to our annual Holiday Gift Program. To explain why this program is so important, we thought we’d let you hear straight from a survivor what receiving gifts at holiday time meant to her. I had been urged by an advocate with REACH to do a Holiday Gift list. I reluctantly fell for…
