Every year for the last 22 years Vera House has asked the public to take a pledge not to commit, condone or stand silent in the face of abuse. Every day Vera House counselors, advocates and shelter staff work to promote healing in the lives of individuals in our community who have experienced trauma as a result of violence.
Today, people are reeling from the violence that is taking place in cities and towns around the world. Americans have been shaken to our very core by the escalating violence in our cities. Vera House, as an organization, cannot stand silent in the face of it. We mourn equally for all the lives taken by senseless violence. We pray equally for the families that have lost loved ones and for our nation and the world. In the face of the trauma we all feel, we aspire to help our community heal. We believe that any act of violence against any human being is abhorrent. We believe violence undermines the message of any group and is devastating to all of us as a larger society. The violence we are witnessing as a nation toward law enforcement has not been, to date, committed by representatives of the peaceful protests.
Vera House works closely with area police departments in our work on a daily basis. We respect, honor and appreciate their service to our community and are grateful to law enforcement for all that they do – going in harm’s way to keep our communities safe. At the same time we believe injustices have happened and we believe the Black Lives Matter Movement is creating awareness around these injustices. These rising voices need to be heard if we are to find solutions to the problems that plague us as a community and as a nation. These two viewpoints are not mutually exclusive. “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
At Vera House our vision states: We seek a world free of violence and abuse. We condemn all violence! And we feel compelled not to stand silent.
We stand in support of all peaceful movements and actions, guided by love, until the violence stops.
