DV Awareness???? No Clear Bell???

Well, it is almost October again and everyone is getting hyped about Domestic Violence prevention activities. These are dedicated, well-intentioned people, intent on helping victims avoid and escape abusive relationships, stopping the growth of abuse and making the public aware of how they can help.

When it is over and you look around, you see that things seem to settle back into the same old routine! People go about their business and often they hear nothing more until next year

I have the image of this huge bell busily swinging back and forth all year long and people watching it and admiring the bell. But, in my mind I see people looking and walking away or not even looking up. Closer inspection reveals there is no clangor in the bell. It swings daily and never issues a sound.

How do we put a clangor in the bell, so its peal will be ever present in our communities?

That is the Fix the Hurt Dream! We are working to bring the wonderful message that Domestic Violence, the Musical? delivers, and developing other performing arts programs that will appeal to agencies and groups across the nation.

Our upcoming performances include 11 performances in October and 1 in November of this year. You can check the website at http://www.fixthehurtpag.org/.

Soon you will see changes in our website, the two, http://www.fixthehurtpag.org/ and http://www.fixthehurt.org/, will join into one and be more powerful than ever.

John Says ---Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know why I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved

First Performance of this Season

So many new things are happening for Fix the Hurt, it's difficult to get my arms around all of them.

It was really great to meet the new cast, Danielle, DJ, Nicole, Jori, Miciah, and see the outstanding performance of Domestic Violence, The Musical?, they gave at the TVSA Conference on Sept 16. Between all the "forgotten" things (a lot my fault) it's a wonder that the performance went off as wonderful as it did. The music is so enhanced and sounds fantastic. Thank you, Miciah Dodge. The dancing was innovative and exciting. Thank you Danielle Wetzel. There was an instant, spontaneous standing ovation. The praises were endless for Loren's writing talent. All-in-all, it was terrific

There are so many people in my life helping me that I could not begin to name them all. My youngest daughter, Lindsey, has a birthday next week and she set up a donation request for FTH on FB for her friends to donate in lieu of birthday presents. How sweet is that??

Beverly Brown, my friend and trusted travel agent, at Travel Mania has helped me with travel arrangements to Wichita Falls and Japan. http://travelmaniavacations.com/. Honestly, it's almost easier to get to Japan than Wichita Falls, TX. I'm handling the Southwest Airlines travel arrangements just fine, but glad Beverly is there for the harder stuff.

I have met some amazing people this week. Jan Lobeck, a mother whose daughter was killed by her ex-husband in Kansas, and Sara Jane Drescher, whose daughter, Donnah, was killed by her husband. Jan has written a book, "Not In Vain" and Sara helped start a shelter in Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Women in Distress. These mothers, like me, never wanted to belong to this exclusive club where your heart is breaking and you want to make all the madness stop. We are doing the best we can with what we have and hopefully it will change one or two lives in the process, and those one or two will pass it on.

And then, there is my partner, Vickie Florschuetz, Bravery Project founder, whom I love. We met with Jane Irvine and Dan Levey with the Office of the Attorney General. They were most receptive and gave us about an hour of their time to listen to our frustrations about lack of funding for preventive measures in this fight to reduce domestic violence in Arizona and across our nation. Vickie and I, along with our dedicated committee are working hard to bring underwriters and sponsors out of the woodwork to help us with the cost of presenting - Evening of the Arts at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater in Mesa. One true lifesaver was John Paterson of International Minute Press in Mesa. Vickie and I met with John about printing the tickets, poster and programs for Evening of the Arts. Well, John is donating all the printing -- something we never dreamed he would do. What a great surprise! What a great person! Thank you John. Our task now is to sell, sell, sell tickets.

Keely Bamberg has been trying to focus my head on a strategic plan for Fix the Hurt. Actually, she is such an amazing person, I have even enjoyed this part of being in the non-profit world of business. She is striving to assist FTH in it's direction, plannning, and achieving of our long-term goals. All I want to do is go out there and use every resource available to me, every venue opened to me, every media opportunity I can find to teach prevention, to educate and to reduce the number of lives that are changed forever at the hands of an abuser. But, we must be organized, professional and funded. That's where Keely is there to guide and direct, so I will try to be a good steward.

John is busy every day, I mean every day, trying to keep our family fed and clothed. He works from about 5 am to 10 pm, six days a week, and sometimes 2 to 3 hours if he receives a service call on Sunday. I love and appreciate his dedication to his family and to the mission of Fix the Hurt.

A Week of Many Emotions

Tough week for our family. September 1 was eight years since Lisa's death. Lots of sweet memories of her seemed to fill my heart and mind and that's a blessing. She was such a fun child. She was always happy, brave and poised to help her siblings. She loved to bake and was the designated family cookie/cake maker. But her life was cut short and we miss her.

There are many things to look forward to for Fix the Hurt. We have met some very well-connected and forward looking people, who will help to raise awareness and bring to light many of the misconceptions about domestic violence through their sense of our mission.

Travel reservations are confirmed and we are looking forward to the upcoming performances of "Domestic Violence, The Musical?" in several military bases/posts in the U.S. and Japan. Also looking forward to going to El Paso this month for the TVSA conference - Tortilla Soup for the Advocates Soul. September also holds the Pinal County DV Conference and Karma Cups. Speaking of Karma Cups, daughter, Lindsey, has an entry for the bra decorating contest. I think she is quite clever. Here is what she wrote to go with her entry.

"Much time and thought went into what I wanted my bra entry to represent. First and foremost, I wanted it to be a message of hope and better things to come.
Finally Free describes my sister, Lisa. Lisa’s life came to a tragic end eight years ago, but, as I said when I spoke to her abuser in the courtroom: “You took away my best friend, she was all that I had, and now she is gone. But she is better off, because you cannot hurt her any more. She is finally free.”
To all those women who are still in an abusive relationship, I say, “Free yourselves” from the chains of abuse. The purple skirt says to “gather up” your courage and strength and move forward. The bling and sequins are symbolic of a rich future in store for you as a survivor . Butterflies are beautiful and remind us of the freedom to move about, make choices and find your own place in the wide, wonderful world. Everyone loves butterflies and you are loveable and beautiful. Obviously purple is the color that symbolizes healing.
So, let us join together (back hooks) and spread the word that we are here to support and lift each other."

Lindsey King Robles

Another exciting new venture is our continuing rehearsals for the new play, "Total Control" (maybe - still toying with titles). We are enjoying working with our director, David Barker, and pleased with the progress we have made so far. Hopefully, we will be ready to offer this performance by January 2010. Also working on the teen dating musical, "I Have This Friend". Very happy to have met with Keely Bamberg, a very talented young woman who owns StrateGente. We hope to very soon be working with Keely on a strategic plan for Fix the Hurt.

Well, this is just kind of an update on what is going on with Fix the Hurt.