Feel Good Friday - Esperanza United

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to support survivors and the advocates standing beside them, which is why I'm featuring Esperanza United.

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, the mission of Esperanza United (formerly Casa de Esperanza) is "to mobilize Latinas and Latin@ communities to end gender-based violence." Their vision is "for Latinas, their families, and communities throughout the world to recognize gender-based violence and act to end it by creating communities rooted in honor and respect." The @ in Latin@ is intentional, recognizing the contributions of the entire community.

It all began as an emergency shelter created by a small group of persevering Latinas. Today, Esperanza United's family advocacy in the Twin Cities includes emergency shelter, community-based advocacy, and a 24/7 bilingual crisis line, meeting survivors where they are.

One in three women in the United States experiences domestic violence in their lifetime. That rate is similar across most groups, but the solutions are not, which is why Esperanza United grounds its work in the Latina Advocacy Framework to help Latin@ survivors gain greater safety, connectedness, and self-sufficiency.

On the prevention side, Fuerza Unida Amig@s brings youth, women, men, and gender non-conforming folks together for leadership training and community action projects. Their national campaign, Decimos NO MÁS, gives parents a toolkit for talking with their children about healthy relationships. Esperanza United also provides training, research, and policy advocacy for organizations nationwide.

In fiscal year 2025, Esperanza United delivered 43 trainings that reached nearly 3,500 people, brought culturally relevant approaches to advocates and communities across 20 states and Puerto Rico, and disbursed nearly $12 million in multi-year grants to 30 culturally specific organizations! You can read the full impact report here.

Making a donation is one way you can support Esperanza United, you can also amplify their message on social media. Follow Esperanza United on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or YouTube and share stories of their work.

Finally, if you or anyone you know needs help, or wants to chat with an advocate, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

Standing with survivors this Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 

Feel Good Friday - TAPS

Memorial Day is Monday and many of us are getting ready to enjoy a long weekend. Before you head off to whatever adventure awaits, take a moment to learn about the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, also know as TAPS.

Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, TAPS is “the national nonprofit organization providing compassionate care and comprehensive resources to all those grieving a death in the military or veteran community.”

TAPS provides a variety of programs to survivors nationally and worldwide. Key services include grief counseling, peer support networks, casework assistance, survivor seminars and retreats, Good Grief camps for children and teens, online resources, a 24/7 military survivor helpline (800-959-8277), and assistance connecting survivors to community-based resources and support services. You can see the full list of programs here.

All programs are offered free of charge and it’s important to note, survivors doesn’t just include spouses, children, parents, and siblings. TAPS programs are open to extended family members, battle buddies, and friends. In this 9-minute video, survivors talk about the death of their loved ones and the impact TAPS has made in their lives.

In addition to the programming, the TAPS website has a wide variety of resources, including education assistance, suicide loss support, advocacy updates, a magazine and a link to search for events in your area.

In 2024, TAPS had 3,433 survivors attend their seminars, they awarded $584 million in education benefits and scholarships, they answered 18,901 helpline calls and over 10,800 people engaged with the care team. You can read more details on the TAPS Impact Report 2024.

If you would like to help the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors care for the families of America’s fallen heroes there are many ways to do so. Volunteer your time, make a donation, shop for merch and amplify their message on social media. Follow TAPS on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - Women's Aid

It was a virtual performance of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" by London City Voices that gave me today's Feel Good Friday idea. The community choir was raising money for the organization, Women's Aid. Let's find out why.

Founded in 1974, Women's Aid is a national charity in England working to end domestic abuse. One of the services they offer is Live Chat, a way for women to connect with expert support workers for assistance. In the first two weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, visits to the site increased by 41%. Women's Aid wanted to raise £200,000 ($247,100) so they could expand the hours of the Live Chat service. I'm happy to report they met their goal and you can now contact Live Chat from 10am - 2pm, Monday - Friday (GMT).

In addition to chatting with a support worker, survivors of domestic abuse can get help via email, by calling a 24/7 hotline, connecting in a survivors forum or by reviewing the survivors handbook. The handbook answers questions about domestic abuse and how to help your children, as well as refers women to safe houses, legal assistance and mental health resources. In 2018 the hotline handled over 100,000 calls and connected callers to almost 300 local services.

Women's Aid also shares information, training and resources with other organizations that support survivors. They educate local communities, schools and football clubs about the issue of domestic abuse and raise public awareness with innovative campaigns like this interactive billboard, Blind Eye. I recommend clicking the link to see how it works.

In order to bring about social change, Women's Aid also conducts research into key areas of domestic abuse to influence government policy. In 2018, they secured £55m in emergency funding from the government.

While Women's Aid met their fundraising goal this week, the need doesn't go away. You can support the global sisterhood with a donation, by campaigning (if you're a local) and by raising awareness on social media using the tag #notalone on the Women's Aid Facebook page and Twitter @womensaid.

Feel Good Friday - RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

Today I'm highlighting RAINN as
a response to the Kavanaugh senate hearings yesterday. It's part Feel Good Friday, part crisis intervention.

According to their website, "RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operations the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country."

During Thursday's hearings, the hotline experienced a 147% increase in calls compared to a normal weekday. If that's not enough to demonstrate why this is a necessary resource, you can read the statistics: in the United States every 98 seconds another person experiences sexual assault and only 6 of every 1,000 rapists will end up in prison.

RAINN provides services in four main areas:

• Victim services include the national hotline, a Department of Defense Safe Helpline for members of the DoD, training for companies, partner service providers and volunteers.
• Public education includes media commentary, curated news content, an active social media presence, a speakers bureau of volunteers who can share their stories with local communities and the media and the Prevention Navigator program which helps colleges choose an appropriate sexual assault prevention program for their campus.
• Public policy efforts at both the federal and state levels are focused on improving the criminal justice system, preventing sexual assault and ensuring justice for survivors.
• Consulting services are provided to clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors and include both prevention and response programs.

In addition to contacting RAINN via the hotline or a live chat, you can also view their website, which is full of resources. Whether you're looking for safety and prevention tips, help on what to do after a sexual assault or want to find out how to get involved in public policy you will find the information you need.

Since their founding in 1994, RAINN has helped more than 2.7 million people. You can see the impact their programs have by reading through and watching survivor stories here.

If you'd like to support RAINN and the work they do to support sexual assault survivors there are many ways to do so: volunteer, fundraise, donate, join the speakers bureau and spread the word on social media by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @RAINN.

It's been a difficult week for many people and the Feel Good Friday spin on this is to know that there are people and organizations here to support you. You are not alone.