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Opinion: Crisis shouldn't stop work against domestic violence

Publisher's Perspective

Posted online

It’s time to speak out, take action and unite! Domestic violence didn’t take a seven-month hiatus when COVID came to town, and neither should we.

In early November 2019, Harmony House of Springfield was just wrapping up a successful iCare campaign in which hundreds of area businesses participated in awareness efforts and fundraising to bring an end to domestic violence locally. I cut my teeth last year as the campaign chair and could not have been more eager to accept the challenge again when asked to co-chair the 2020 campaign. I was still feeling the momentum of the progress that we had made and couldn’t wait to be a part of something even bigger and better. My Springfield Business Journal colleagues and I gained so much through our involvement with iCare and felt that we had played some small part in spreading the word that would help even more victims find a helping hand and a way to escape dire circumstances. Little did any of us know that the perfect storm would present itself just ahead of the 2020 kickoff.

As we are all aware, domestic violence plagued the world long before COVID-19 was discovered, and will not be quelled with the emergence of a vaccine or treatment. It impacts every corner of the world and cuts across all socioeconomic groups in all communities, families and workplaces. In an effort to protect the public from further spread of COVID-19, we have been asked to isolate with our families and retreat to the one place that a victim of domestic violence is most likely to be abused – home.

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline: “We know that any external factors that add stress, isolation and financial strain can create circumstances where a survivor’s safety is further compromised. The COVID-19 pandemic has elements of all three of these external factors.”

Our best and only real defense lies in education, awareness, protection and advocacy for victims and survivors. So, pandemic or not, SBJ will once again join hundreds of area businesses speaking in a unified voice about domestic violence in the month of October.

In commemoration of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Harmony House of Springfield will launch their 2020 iCare campaign at Oasis Hotel and Convention Center from 7:30-9:30 a.m. Sept. 29. On this day, company representatives of area businesses willing to take a stand can literally drive through a demonstration of solidarity against domestic violence. Beginning at the entrance to the Oasis property, guests will be greeted by me, Miss Missouri Megan Kelly, Randy Bacon of Randy Bacon Photography and 7Billion Ones, Harmony House staff and iCare awareness leaders and advocates. We will all be on-site wearing the black eye sticker (and a mask, of course) to show our appreciation to our community for standing with victims this October. Southwest Audio/Visual will be parking a 20-foot LED screen in the parking lot that will be showing iCare testimonials, survivor stories and “How to iCare” slides that attendees can view while enjoying a breakfast sandwich and coffee provided by Oasis, all from the comfort of their car.

So, here’s what I’m asking of you. Please start by making your iCare pledge. Go to MyHarmonyHouse.org/icare to register your business as a 2020 participant. Then join me and others at the Oasis for the drive-thru breakfast. Just let us know how many are coming by registering at the following link: bit.ly/icarekickoff.

From there, Harmony House staff and iCare ambassadors will help you and your colleagues find your own unique way of advocating for victims and survivors and/or raising funds through the month of October. If you are open to an on-site visit from staff, we will be making the rounds on Oct. 30 to thank you personally for your efforts. Whatever you decide to do, please don’t be silent. It’s time to speak up!

Springfield Business Journal Publisher Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@sbj.net.

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