Thanks for your support this week! It wasn’t the finish we wanted, but we made it to the Contender Round and one step closer to the goal! The 22 team will keep pushing forward and focus on finishing strong this week in Charlotte.

This Week’s Cause: Domestic Violence

There are many causes in October worth mentioning. One of the most visible symbols of the month is pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness. While I think that is an outstanding cause, I wanted to look at an issue that may not get as much attention.

For the month of October, Chasing Second Chances is going to bring awareness to domestic violence. Domestic violence affects entire communities. The individual being abused, family, friends and co-workers, all feel the reach of domestic violence.

We have worked with various non-profits in this field getting ready for this platform to launch and I have really learned a lot about the difficulty in identifying and helping someone in this situation. My hope is if there is someone reading this blog that is in an abusive relationship or suspects someone they know is in one, they will have the strength and resources to find and/or offer help.

What is Domestic Violence?

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)…

Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically; however, the one constant component of domestic violence is one partner’s consistent efforts to maintain power and control over the other.

The issue of domestic violence is one that affects every community in our country. According to NCADV nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by a partner in the United States. That is equal to 10 million men and women a year. Of these cases, approximately 95% are female victims of male partners. Domestic violence can result in physical injury, psychological trauma, and even death.

Resources Available

If you or someone you know needs assistance, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or, online go to DomesticShelters.org. There you can find resources in your direct area.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence site has a lot of information too under resources that can offer help http://www.ncadv.org/need-help/resources.

This Week’s Joey Logano Foundation Chasing Second Chances Partner

This week’s charity partner is Dove’s Nest. Dove’s Nest is the women’s program at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, a non-profit in the Charlotte community that has been changing lives for 75 years.

In 1992 Charlotte Rescue Mission launched the Dove’s Nest program. The program started in a small house serving 12 women and has now grown to a 120 bed facility able to house women and their children as they go through the recovery process.

The focus of Dove’s Nest is to serve women struggling with addiction, poverty or hopelessness with the goal of returning them to society as productive, self-sufficient citizens. They want their clients to achieve long-term sobriety, find employment and stable housing, and restore and build healthy relationships. Over 90% of the women who come to Doves Nest have experienced some sort of abuse that has led to their addiction.

Our foundation will be funding the Nurturing Families program at Dove’s Nest. This program includes curriculum and classes used to teach these women and their children how to have healthy relationships since addiction often means for these kids, there has been abuse or neglect at home.

Again, the effects of domestic violence have far reaching consequences. Drug addiction can be one. Dove’s Nest has proven to be successful in providing quality care assisting these women to end their addictions and deal with the trauma that led them down the wrong path. We are so proud to support another amazing organization through our Chasing Second Chances platform. For more information on Dove’s Nest, please visit http://charlotterescuemission.org/.