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It is that time of year and the holidays are fast approaching. We are all so busy planning our feasts, gifts, and visits with loved ones. Sometimes we forget to consider those in our community who are struggling with hunger, poverty and violence in their homes. Take a moment and imagine the holidays in the eyes of a child.
We will call her Olivia.
Olivia is six years old. She loves school. Her teacher says that she is quiet and very watchful. She observes the interactions of her classmates but rarely joins in the play. The children make Thanksgiving Turkey art by tracing their hands on paper. They recite poems about harvests. Her teacher doesn't know Olivia's family very well. Olivia takes the school bus every day. On the way home from school, she starts twisting her hair around her fingers. Her heart begins to race. She wonders what she will find when she arrives home. Will her little brother, Noah, be hungry and crying? Will her mommy have a fresh bruise on her face? Will her daddy be angry? The bus stops at the corner and she hesitates for just a moment, not wanting to face the reality behind the closed door she sees. The bus driver reminds her that this is her stop. She rises to her feet as a tear drop makes its way down her cheek. Olivia clutches the colorful turkey drawing in her fist as she already hears daddy's voice in the house, she hears Noah crying, she sees mommy through the window at the sink washing dishes, tears streaming down her face.
Every day in our community children like Olivia face domestic violence. If you are like me, this story breaks your heart. On any given night there are over 50 children in Stand Up Placer's Safe House and Housing Program. There are many more who are still living violent homes.
Stand Up Placer is committed to making sure these children have a safe place to sleep every night of the year and that their holidays are safe, healthy, and happy.
Will you help us achieve this goal?
Jenny Davidson
Executive Director
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Recent Events and Activities
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During October we received a lot of support around Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
- Salon Hermosa of Roseville reached out after seeing our DVAM campaign and made us the beneficiary of an annual fundraiser. - THANK YOU SALON HERMOSA.
- Robin Padilla of Damsels in Defense organized a fundraising event for a Purple Concealed Kari purse and all monies collected were presented to Stand Up Placer to support those effected by Domestic Violence. - THANK YOU ROBIN PADILLA.
- Many donors helped us during the month of October by donating old cell phones, personal hygiene products, household goods (bedding, kitchen utensils, pots/pans), and toys and games for the children. Thank you to all who helped.
Our Sexual Assault team lead attended the state advisory committee on sexual assault and in collaboration with Placer County Sheriff's Department arranged a tour of the Auburn Jail to discuss issues related to the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
Our Human Trafficking team have been very busy training local community partners and sharing their knowledge and expertise on the subject of trafficking at events and panel discussions. If you or anybody you know needs information please contact
Amy Maggard to request a presentation.
Our Housing team have secured a 4-plex for our transitional housing program and with substantial donations of furniture and time from community members have set them up beautifully. Thanks to this we are able to accommodate 9 new survivors in a safe place.
Family Night is a monthly event facilitated by our Child Advocate in our Safe House. The goal is family communication and bonding, and this is introduced by creating free and spontaneous ways to spend time as a family. Thanks to the great many pumpkins we received the survivors and their children made all food items and decorations from pumpkins.
Thanks to our good friends at Soroptimist Of the American River (SOAR) we were able to partner and present proclamations/resolutions to the City of Auburn, Roseville, Rocklin and the Placer County Board of Supervisors, declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Thank you to all who made this happen and thank you to the aforementioned agencies for recognizing the services we provide to the community.
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Kudos to Richard in our Roseville Service Office.
Richard did an amazing job of securing racks for our thrift store from a retailer in the mall in Roseville and in Sunnyvale.
Thank you VANS for your support.
Working toward our vision of "Ending Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Human Trafficking" our very own Annie Hess has been doing amazing outreach to students at local high schools. Annie is so awesome we was given a special commendation by the Roseville Joint Union High School District for her work.
Red Flags and Warning Signs
Quote from our Advocacy Specialist Coordinator: "It is truly a team effort. Laura, Evelyn, Angelica and Anthony, Annie, Richard, and Lois...you all rock! Effective advocacy is about the passion in helping and being dedicated to your willingness to do great things."
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Upendra Kulkarni joined Stand Up Placer in October 2016 as a senior advisor to the management team. Upendra retired from Intel Corporation in Folsom as vice president of software engineering after 28 years of service. Upendra holds a masters degree in computer engineering from Virginia Tech, and completed executive accelerator MBA from Stanford University. When asked why he chose to join Stand Up Placer here's what he said. "When I retired, Intel sponsored an opportunity to work with a non profit of my choice to help the community. My preference was to work with schools to help students. But when I came across Stand Up Placer, I was impressed by the mission of the agency, the commitment by the people working here to help survivors and desire to grow to be able to have a broader impact on the community. In my discussions with Jenny, she expressed interest in having me help her and the management team with organizational growth, leadership training, effective communication, team work and budget planning. Having led multi-geo organizations and managed large budgets at Intel, I felt I could really help SUP in the areas Jenny mentioned. So my goal in the next 12 months is to work with the management team in group setting and as well as one on one basis to share my learning, experience and education in leadership and management so SUP can become more effective in performing the important mission of helping survivors." Upendra is married with two children, has two dogs and enjoys hiking, comedy and reading.
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The holidays are upon us and we are overwhelmed by the outpouring of kindness in the community, to share gifts with survivors and children and to bring joy, parties and food to those who would otherwise miss out.
In coming months we hope to share pictures and stories of some great events.
If you wish to make a gift to a survivors or child:
- Sponsor a family (gifts for the family members, gift cards, or a pre-ordered holiday dinner)
- Donate an individual gift for a child or survivor
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Success Stories
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Four years ago "Terri" and her children were living a good life in Placer County and the world was full of opportunities. She had a bubbly and outgoing personality. She was married with two beautiful children and all was well at first. Although she didn't realize it at the time, she can now look back on those 'happier times' and see the beginnings of her abusers subtle control issues that ultimately led to major problems for her and her children. She can look back and see that this played out for a year or more, all the time becoming progressively worse. By the time Terri's relationship turned to physical abuse she had already been subjected to years of emotional and financial abuse. She had been degraded by her abuser in public and in her place of work. Every aspect of her life was becoming controlled. She knew something felt wrong but was not fully aware of how serious her situation was until a friend, a coworker, began asking questions, identified the escalation in control as domestic violence, and sought help on her behalf. With the help of an intervention from law enforcement and local service providers, Terri was given information about the emergency shelter at Stand Up Placer and realized she had to leave her abuser and find safe refuge for herself and her children.
By the time she entered the emergency shelter with her children Terri was depressed and had little of her self-esteem remaining. She and her children were given a room and information about the services and programs offered. For the first two weeks they kept to themselves, but with careful coaching from our wonderfully supportive staff and crisis counselors they began to mix with other survivors and see that they were not alone in their situation or in the types of abuse they suffered. That had a huge impact on her and her children. That shock and realization gave Terri the motivation to make full use of all of the services, training and skills-building opportunities presented to her and her children and to
regain her self-esteem and to begin the journey to a new future, while being housed in the shelter. Terri and her children regained their independence over a 2-year period, including time in the Safe House and Housing Program. Even though they have now graduated, they are always mindful of the trauma they experienced and will never be the same people they once were.
Now, 3 years after entering our shelter she is a renewed person, she is safe, her children are thriving and she is beginning a new and wonderful adventure in life.
Terri's story will take some time to tell, so please stay tuned as we share more episodes and experiences during her time in our shelter and in our housing program.
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Look for information on a co-dependency group we are starting on January 12, 2017. We will share times and locations soon.
We have a number of programs happening in the service offices. Some require preregistration, and others are drop-in. Call to verify.
- Sexual Exploitation Identification for Parents--This mini-series will be held over the course of one month and will serve as an educational opportunity for parents whose children are already in "the life" or whom are at risk of being trafficked. The class will take place at the Roseville service office, 775 Sunrise Ave, Suite 160. Contact Amy or Lauren for more information or to sign up, 916-773-7273.
- Human Trafficking Support Group--Wednesday, Human Trafficking drop-in center, Roseville service office, 775 Sunrise Ave, Suite 160. Contact Amy for more information, 916-773-7273.
- Teen Sexual Assault Art Therapy Group--Wednesday, 5:00-6:30 pm, Roseville service office, 775 Sunrise Ave, Suite 200. This is an ongoing class. Contact Susan or Amy to sign up or for more information, 916-773-7273.
- Adult Sexual Assault Art Therapy Group--Tuesday, 5:30-7:00 pm, Roseville service office, 775 Sunrise Ave, Suite 200. Contact Susan or Amy to sign up or for more information, 916-773-7273.
- Auburn--Tuesday 6:30 - 8:00 pm, 11985 Heritage Oaks, Suite 200, 530-885-0443
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Roseville--
Tuesday 11:30 am - 1:00 pm,
Wednesday 6:00 - 7:30 pm,
775 Sunrise Ave, Suite 160,
916-773-7273
- Employment Prep--Roseville service office, 775 Sunrise Ave, Suite160, 916-773-7273
- Tuesday, November 22nd at 11:00 am--Resume Creation
- Tech Safety--Every Other Friday, 10:00-11:00 am, Roseville Service Office, 775 Sunrise Avenue, Suite. 160, 916-773-7273
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We are currently looking for a few more volunteers who want to help with our signature fundraising event in the Spring.
Stand Up and Dance 2017 is our major fundraiser, scheduled for March 25, and we have many opportunities for energetic, fun, supportive and creative people to help us make an impact in the community.
W
hether you have a lot of time to give or just a little, we need your help and support. To help, call today at 530.823.6224 or email our
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Giving Tuesday - November 29, 2016
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GIVING TUESDAY
November 29, 2016
SAVE THE DATE
After all the turkey is gone and
After the Black Friday sales are over and
After the Cyber Monday sales are over
We ask you to consider making a $25 online donation to support a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking.
http://www.standupplacer.org/stand-up/donate
$25 provides emergency food and clothing for a survivor and family fleeing a life threatening situation
$100 provides job interview preparation and training for a survivor to help them regain independence
$200 provides a week of trauma therapy for a survivor and family
$300 provides the cost of the first nights stay in the Safe House for a survivor and their family.
To ensure a successful outcome for a family in the Safe House requires an investment of $8,000. This provides all services for a 90-day period.
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DANCING WITH THE PLACER COUNTY STARS 2017
SAVE THE DATE
March 25, 2017 is the date for our Dancing With The Placer County Stars 2017 Event. You don't want to miss this so add it to your calendars now.
More details will be available soon. Stay tuned, "like" our Facebook page www.facebook.com/standupplacer or visit our website http://www.standupplacer.org/ to stay informed about details, opportunities to participate, get involved, and to come and see local celebrities dance for prizes. |
Check out the
job listings
on our website for new openings and opportunities. It is constantly being updated.
We are currently looking for the following people to join our team:
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Remember, if you consider a
donation to Stand Up Placer you have chosen to save a life.
Sincerely,
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"
Saving lives by empowering survivors and educating communities to stand up to domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking"
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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