In the San Diego community, many service providers collaborate and advocate as partners in their prevention efforts to help stop domestic violence abuse by providing services, resources and programs. Education and prevention efforts are vitally important along with intervention and sustainability. As families are offered safety, services and assistance away from someone who is hurting them, help and healing is also offered to family members or friends who may witness the violence or intervene in helping to remove someone from an abusive relationship. We all must continue to work together as advocates to prevent domestic violence and put a stop to the pain and abuse.
Operation For Hope Foundation would like to highlight organizations and groups in San Diego and nationally who are taking the lead in domestic violence prevention efforts in reaching out to all with an extra focus on engaging and educating boys and men.
As part of the prevention efforts, organizations that help provide leadership, vision and resources for engaging boys and men about sharing their responsibilities as prevention partners are leading the efforts by playing an active role in helping to prevent domestic violence.
We End Violence believes that the majority of men want to do no harm and want to play an active role in preventing violence—they simply need to be empowered and taught how to do it. Involving men in violence prevention through programming that doesn't blame or criticize them, but instead motivates them and demonstrates how they can lead our culture away from violence.
“Violence happens, and it happens far too often. The good news is that we can end violence before it happens, and support those who have been victimized by it. This is not about being a superhero. It's about each person taking little actions every day—actions that promote healthy relationships, compassion and equality. Together, each of us can make a choice to take action and end violence,” said Jeffrey Bucholtz, director of We End Violence.
This innovative program engages fathers to be involved in their children's education. SAY San Diego manages clubs at over 24 San Diego elementary schools, with a special concentration on schools in Mid-City and Southeast San Diego with meetings and activities ranging from building reading and math skills to discussion on violence prevention.
YWCA Walk A Mile in Her Shoes:
YWCA Walk a Mile in Her Shoes began in October 2008 during National Domestic Violence Awareness month for a fun and lighthearted way to build awareness of the prevalence of domestic violence and its negative impacts on any community. Men (and women) are invited to walk one mile in downtown San Diego in high heeled shoes to raise awareness and lead the way to ending domestic violence while raising much needed funds for Becky's House Domestic Violence Program.
Operation For HOPE Foundation is honored to partner with celebrity athletes and male mentors who have shown their commitment to the prevention of domestic violence and support of community resources.
National organizations and programs:
On a national level, Futures without Violence, Coaching Boys into Men Program reaches out to men as fathers, brothers, coaches, teachers, uncles, and mentors in the role they play in coaching boys into men.
Other men’s groups that are creating awareness of the issues include:
Men Stopping Violence: menstoppingviolence.org/
Men Against Domestic Violence: dvsolutions.org/programs/MenAgainstDV.aspx
Love is Not Abuse, JOINS, Break the Cycle: loveisnotabuse.com/web/guest/home
Men ending Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault in Texas: main.org/sangati/menantidv.html
As we continue to engage our San Diego community in the prevention of domestic violence, Operation for HOPE Foundation is honored with the support, collaboration and participation of the men and women committed to the Third Annual Ready to Take the Diamond and Strike-Out Domestic Violence charity softball game on Jan. 26, 2013. We are not only raising awareness about this important issue, we are raising HOPE Funds that will go directly to helping domestic violence victims and their families in an emergency or critical time of need. Click here to learn more about how you can support the softball charity fundraiser and meet our celebrity athletes. Click here to learn more about the HOPE Fund.
