To Our Vera House Family:
One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these – to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. (Clarissa Pinkola Estes)
As we reflect on this week’s election, it seems important for us to reiterate the vision of Vera House:
A world free of violence and abuse.
As an agency we stand for peace, equality, respect, justice, possibility, and human dignity. We stand for these values for all people but especially for those individuals at the margins, those whose fear is palpable and justified this week in the face of hateful, threatening acts happening across the country. Whether you are a woman, person of color, immigrant or refugee, Muslim, LGBTQ, or living with a disability, we want you to know we are here for you, and we will stand up for you.
We know that survivors of sexual assault have been especially triggered during this campaign, as sex crimes were described as “locker room talk,” and the real life trauma experienced by survivors was minimized or dismissed entirely. We want you to know we are here for you, and we will stand up for you.
Vera House’s values call us to:
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advocate for the right of all persons to live without abuse, oppression, violence or fear in their relationships
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embrace diversity in a meaningful way, and
- educate and challenge ourselves, and the communities we serve, to promote a culture of respect and non-violence.
We remain steadfastly committed to these values and unwavering in our determination to stand up and show our souls to continue to press forward with all we have set our sights on at Vera House – transforming society, supporting survivors, and ending this violence.
We hope that every single member of our Vera House family will join us in this effort. #StandWithVeraHouse
