More than 400 Atlanta area residents gathered Thursday night to raise money to end domestic violence in the city. Their action came amid a surge in domestic violence deaths in Georgia, an increase that started with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence hosted its 21st annual fundraiser at the Georgia Aquarium and raised nearly $200,000, a record for the group. Attendees cheered one another on and whipped their napkins in the air to show support.
Jean Douglas, executive director of the center, emphasized to donors that the center provides free services to families trying to find a safe place and to escape violence.
“There’s no place like home,” Douglas said. “Home should be a place of comfort and refuge. The place that holds some of our favorite things and people. Rarely do we imagine it as the place where we feel most vulnerable and afraid. But, that is the reality for many.”
In the past three years, center officials said they have seen this reality for more and more families across Georgia. At the group’s candlelight vigil on Oct. 20 in Court Square, Decatur, the organization read out the names of 212 Georgians who were killed by their abusers since the last event the previous October.
“Survivors often describe feeling lost or unmoored,” Douglas said. “The safe house is an anchor and a beacon. The safe house is part of something lasting. Survivors experience a kind of homecoming, coming home to a part of themselves they have lost to fear and disappointment.”
The Women’s Resource Center’s programs aim to not only provide a safe space for domestic violence survivors but also to set them up for future success. Throughout the night, attendees heard from several beneficiaries of the organization’s services.
Chloe, a survivor of domestic violence whose last name has been omitted for privacy purposes, spoke about her new home — her bedroom, which is now a place of calm and solitude, her refrigerator, which is just right for keeping things organized, and her living room, which is perfect for movie nights with her son.
“I called the Women’s Resource Center and Cassandra picked up the phone, and if it weren’t for that conversation, that interaction, I don’t think I would have felt great about making that decision (to leave),” Chloe said.
Chloe said the center’s free programs not only helped her muster the courage to escape her abusive home after 10 years of marriage but also helped her to learn new skills, pay off her debt, and purchase a new home.
“It was like back to back,” Chloe said. “She (a coach at the center) was telling me what to do and I was like yeah, that’s what’s gonna happen. And it just happened. I paid off the car, and then purchased a home.”
Chloe’s son was also able to participate in Camp Peace, a summer program that aims to break the cycle of violence for children who have survived domestic violence. Children who have witnessed domestic violence are eligible to participate in the eight-week curriculum free of charge.
The camp’s curriculum helps students with attention training, developing compassion for themselves and others, and gaining resiliency skills. Students also learn about how trauma affects the nervous system so they are able to better understand their bodies and feelings.
At Thursday’s fundraiser, 40 attendees donated to allow a student to spend a summer at Camp Peace.
“Camp Peace means to me, basically being able to feel calmness around you and in your surroundings, and being able to be comfortable,” one camper shared with the crowd.
Throughout the night, co-chairs Melba Hughes and Michelle McClafferty, in addition to Douglas and auctioneer Trey Morris, reminded attendees of the importance of ending domestic violence. Morris said that women in abusive home situations are at their highest risk of being killed.
The event also honored Theresa Wynn Roseborough, executive vice president and general counsel and corporate secretary at the Home Depot, and the Home Depot legal team. The group has donated more than 560 hours of service to help women at the resource center obtain legal independence and safety.
“Many of the organizations we support claim that they’re indebted to us for our help,” said Wynn Roseborough. “But quite the opposite is true… Those who they serve are our neighbors, our friends, our customers, our clients and our associates.”
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