April-June 2020 Newsletter

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Quarterly Newsletter


April-June 2020


April 2020

  • Monthly Committee Member Meeting

    • COVID-19

      • VOICES members reviewed the protocol for online meetings and will be doing those monthly.

    • VOICES POWER HOUR

      • The committee decided that they would incorporate a Power Hour twice weekly outside of their monthly meetings. This will enable members to dedicate time to stay in touch with each other on topics involving domestic violence as well as get work done for their individual committees. 

    • Social Media

      • VOICES members agreed that social media posts need to incorporate being quarantined in homes and how to stay safe.

May 2020

  • Monthly Committee Member Meeting

    • On May 1st, committee members, Kelsey Sanders, Kirby Banks, and Roxanne Martin met with Jamie Angelle, chief communications officer for the Lafayette Consolidated Government. The committee members are working with the mayor’s office in hopes of creating public service announcements with the objective of raising awareness in the fight against domestic violence. 

    • Education and Awareness Committee chairperson, Roxanne Martin, reached out to the counseling department of the Lafayette Parish School System via Zoom. Her mission was to discuss the importance of preparing for Lafayette Parish children returning to classrooms in the fall as different individuals. Some of the items discussed were employee training through an online site that the district already uses. Also discussed were emotional resources that the students may need if classes resume virtually in the fall. 

    • In May, Kelsey Sanders, Chairperson for VOICES of Acadiana, was awarded the Certificate of Academic Excellence by the Black Faculty and Staff Association of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. All of us here at Voices of Acadiana would like to congratulate Kelsey on her outstanding accomplishment.

June 2020

  • Monthly Committee Member Meeting

    • Survivor Sunday has a new name!! VOICES members have decided that it’s time for our followers to “Sound Off”!! Let’s break the cycle of silence and Sound Off!! We are inviting you to ask our committee members questions that you’ve been wanting to know. You can ask a question to a specific member or ask the committee as a whole. We would like our followers to inbox us questions. Our “Sound Off” will begin sometime in August. We will be answering questions via pre-recorded videos. In the future, we are hoping to go LIVE!!! So start sending us your questions!! We are ready to SOUND OFF!!! As a reminder, VOICES members can refuse to answer questions that may be deemed too personal, invades our privacy, or due to ongoing litigation. Our answers will be specific to our own situations and in no way will we be giving directives or legal advice. As always, if you or someone you know needs help regarding domestic violence, please contact Faith House at 1-888-411-1333.

    • As our followers grow in numbers, we want to not only give inspiration on how to move forward, but we also want to give you insight on how our members' lives have moved forward. On July 6th, we began posting some of our personal Moving Forward stories. We hope this gives survivors and those still involved in domestic violence situations encouragement in their current lives. Don’t forget to look for our stories!! We are excited to share our forward momentum with you!!!

    • If you or someone you know has been interested in getting involved with VOICES, here’s your chance!!! VOICES of Acadiana is ready for new members!!! If you are interested in joining our committee in the fight to break the cycle of domestic violence, we are ready for you to join our team!! The application process is simple. Go to https://faithhouseacadiana.com/voices-of-acadiana/ and scroll to the bottom of the page until you see “Become a member”. Fill in all the requested information. You can choose to be an active member and attend monthly meetings or a supportive member and just participate in selected events. Either way, we are happy to have new members joining us!! We will be accepting applications until the end of August. When the deadline rolls around, we will close the application process and begin a vetting process to ensure the safety of all members and applicants. Then we will begin the interview process. At this time we are unsure if we will hold the interviews online or better yet in person!!! That will be decided at a later date. So please submit your application now!!

  • Education and Awareness Chairperson, Roxanne Martin, will be attending a Sister Survivor Retreat in Woodland Park, CO next month. The retreat is sponsored by Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence. She is planning to bring back valuable resources and ideas to share with other VOICES members as well as the domestic violence community. If you would like to find out more information on this organization, click on the following link: https://breakthesilencedv.org.

 

Continuing Ongoing Projects

  • Increased community presence and engagement 

  • Creating developmentally age-appropriate curriculums for all children, from toddlers on up through the high school level

  • Continued social media development and engagement 

  • Team building activities

  • Survivor outreach

  • Creation of a digital “resource binder” for survivors

  • Creation and implementation of a screening tool for family law attorneys to assess new clients for potential domestic violence/domestic abuse

  • Address and influence legislation for gaps in the civil code which allow abusers to continue to victimize survivors directly or by proxy through their children

Long-Term Dreams and Goals

  • Survivor Healing Conference

  • Domestic Violence Education and Awareness Program in all schools in the Faith House service area, similar to the DARE program, but focused on domestic violence prevention

  • Establishing a Peak Living Network in the Acadiana area focused completely on survivor healing

How You Can Partner With Us/Volunteer Opportunities

  • Gift Card and/or supply drives for comfort baskets for new shelter residents

  • We will call upon volunteers for planned activities in October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, such as the Candlelight Vigil

  • Continue to engage with us on our Facebook page; liking, commenting on and sharing our posts 

  • PLEASE invite all of your Facebook friends to like our Facebook page. You never know who needs to see the content that we are putting out. 


2019/2020 Committee Members

Pictured above, left to right: Sarah Faulk, Brandie Stelly - Systems Change Chair, Kirby Banks, Shelby Gale - Secretary, Kelsey Sanders - Chair, Moira Pack Evanco - Outreach to Survivors Chair, and Roxanne Martin - Education and Awareness Chair.

Not Pictured: Taylar Francis and Jacqueline Chaisson.

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