Today is #GivingTuesday and Alliance for HOPE International has joined the global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide.
#GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick-off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaborate in improving their local communities and to give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support. We hope you will support Alliance for HOPE International and our allied Centers as we collectively serve more than 150,000 survivors of domestic violence and their children each year in the United States.
Your donation will help send a traumatized child to camp in 2016, provide civil legal help to a survivor of domestic violence and her children, and help us continue to support victims and their children across America. Will you be a HOPE GIVER today?
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Alliance for HOPE International
Survivor Focused
At the core of Alliance for HOPE International is our focus on survivors and their children. Throughout the months of October and November this couldn't be more true.
We celebrated survivors during Domestic Violence Awareness month by hosting a national webinar titled, "Surviving After the Crisis" in which, Alliance President, Casey Gwinn, facilitated a conversation with VOICES Survivors Network members Lisbet Perez and Jennica Lawford, to help other survivors across the country find a pathway to hope. We also conducted a focus group with VOICES members to ensure we are promoting best practices in strangulation prevention and education. I
n partnership with National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), the Alliance co-hosted the National Symposium on the Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases in an effort to help prosecutors across the nation hold perpetrators accountable for their actions and to help them understand what survivors and their children experience and need as they come forward for help. In October, the Alliance team was honored to receive the NAACP (North San Diego
County Chapter) 2015 Medgar Wiley Evers Advocacy Award.
Alliance for HOPE International's Board of Directors and staff are humbled by the work being done across the nation in an effort to help survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking and elder abuse break the cycle of violence for themselves and their family. Thank you for your supporting our efforts.
-Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack and Alliance for HOPE Staff
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Casey Gwinn moderated a survivor panel with VOICES members Jennica, Lisbet, and Eric. Prosecutors from across the country appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from survivors and ask questions.
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Prosecutors Gather in San Diego to Chart Course for the Future
In partnership with NDAA,
Alliance for HOPE International co-hosted a National Symposium on the Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases in
San Diego. San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis opened the Symposium with this powerful statement: "The misdemeanor of today is the domestic violence homicide of tomorrow."
"NDAA is committed to charting a new course for the prosecution of domestic violence and related offenses by convening a group of highly motivated and innovative prosecutors from across the country to change the landscape for victim safety while holding offenders accountable," said Kay Chopard Cohen, Executive Director of the
National District Attorneys Association.
"We must invest the time and the money to help prosecutors, police officers, and advocates build closer relationships with each other. Better collaboration ALWAYS increases safety and offender accountability. Collaboration is the beginning of homicide prevention" - Casey Gwinn, President, Alliance for HOPE International.
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Strangulation Education Takes Center Stage During Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Our CEO Gael Strack, Esq., was quoted in this important story.
"'The minute you put pressure on someone's neck, you are really announcing that you are a killer,'
said Gael Strack, a former domestic violence prosecutor in California who is now one of the nation's leading strangulation experts."
Alliance for HOPE President Travels to New York to Speak about Near-Fatal Strangulation Laws and Meets an
Incredible
Survivor
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Strangulation survivor, Laura, is pictured here with Casey Gwinn and her prosecutor, detective, advocate, nurse, doctor, and police officers.
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Casey Gwinn presented in Orangeburg, NY on effective handling of near-fatal strangulation cases. The power of a survivor's story was incredible. "Laura" was strangled four years ago and is still dealing with the trauma of the assault. Her entire intervention team presented her case and then Laura shared her own journey.
Casey Gwinn praised Laura for her courage in sharing her story in public. Four years after the assault she still lives with nightmares, short-term memory loss, and a host of issues.
"A person with an experience is never at the mercy of a person with an argument." "Laura, your experience is power. Thank you for using your pain and your power to inspire others," said Casey.
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The POWER of HOPE
The Alliance released a short promotional video about
Camp HOPE America, our nationally recognized camping and mentoring program for children impacted by domestic violence and related child abuse. Many children growing up in violence and abuse end up populating our prisons and experiencing a lifetime of pain and heartbreak. This is how you change the ending for trauma-exposed children. Will you be a HOPE giver? We need your help to bring healing and create a pathway to hope for so many children and teens exposed to trauma and abuse. Our dream is to see Camp HOPE develop in communities across the United States. Please take a moment to learn more about Camp HOPE and why it matters in the lives of so many.
Celebrating HOPE
Congratulatio
ns Gemma Serrano, one of our amazing Camp HOPE campers and now counselors! Gemma received her white coat as Biomedical Sciences Scholar at University City High School. It was a great honor during her senior year of high school as she prepares to go to college! She has BIG dreams and is a great role model for others!
LoveStruck
Please take a moment and watch
LoveStruck
, a national documentary on domestic violence that was recently released on YouTube. It includes a focus on
Camp HOPE America
and the visionary work and leadership of Casey Gwinn, co-founder of
Alliance for HOPE International
and the founder of Camp HOPE America.
The documentary's producer,
Hannelore Gomes, is a survivor of childhood trauma and is helping everyone understand the impact of growing up with childhood trauma and domestic violence.
Hannelore produced
LoveStruck
in partnership with
NOMORE.org
. In LoveStruck, she interviews
survivors,
perpetrators and professionals who tell the truth about violence and abuse in their homes, relationships, and lives. She also talks to children attending Camp HOPE in Northern California. These brave children share their experiences and the impact trauma and abuse has had on them.
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Kim Goldberg-Roth, Jennifer Anderson, Kathy Adams, and Natalia Aguirre celebrate Strength United.
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Time To Celebrate the Opening of Two New Family Justice Centers in California
Alliance for HOPE staff members were excited to travel the state in October to attend the grand opening of Strength United in Van Nuys and One SAFE Place in Shasta County.
Congratulations to
Kim Goldberg-Roth, LMFT, Executive Director and her team for opening the first Family Justice Center in Los Angeles.
The Alliance's Michael Burke was honored to be part of
One SAFE Place Shasta
's ribbon cutting. One SAFE Place is the result of a merger of the Shasta Women's Refuge and the Shasta Family Justice Center. The result is a new building that offers services and shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children in one location. Congratulations to Executive Director Jean King, her team and the community. Read more about One SAFE Place...
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Alliance for HOPE International Board Member Honored
We are so happy to celebrate our amazing Board Member, Jerri Malana
, for
receiving the
2015 Community Legacy Award from the San Diego Pacific Arts Movement during their
16th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Awards Gala
!
The Pacific Arts Movement website says, "The Community Legacy Award is presented to an outstanding individual who exemplifies service, and leadership, and whose contributions have made a substantial impact to the legacy of Pacific Arts Movement and the San Diego region. As an employment law attorney at Littler, Jerri has contributed her time and talents for decades to help numerous organizations and causes." Read more about Jerri...
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Stay Up to Date with Family Justice Center Headlines:
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$10 donation
the easy way...
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"This is an amazing book...is a worthwhile read to anyone ministering to children especially children who have experienced early trauma including the divorce of their parents."
Cheering for the Children
is a clarion call to all caring people
to become cheerleaders for children exposed to trauma and abuse.
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16th Annual International
Family Justice Conference in San Diego
April 12-14, 2016
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Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention -
Advanced Course on Strangulation Prevention in San Diego
Feb. 9 - 12, 2016
Apply Now
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Special Thank You to Funders of Family Justice Centers
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