The Damage of Violence

A few nights ago I spent nearly 2 hours watching television, switching the channels back and forth between various sports and news networks. The content was nearly interchangeable as the main stories focused on two NFL players who are being scrutinized for alleged domestic violence; one for knocking his fiancé out and the other for bearing his four-year old child with a switch until there were marks left on the child's legs.

My fifth grade daughter was in the room, drawing. Finally, after a few minutes, she spoke up and asked why these men would hurt people they were supposed to love and protect. It's a simple question with no solitary answer. I'm not going to comment on why a man would beat a woman or child (or another man) except to say that the individual committing the violence is a coward and degenerate and the act is indefensible. There is NO justifiable reason to knock out a woman with a deliberate punch to the face or to beat a child with an foreign object until the child bleeds. Or at all.

If these instances can draw attention to issues of domestic violence, then perhaps people who wouldn't regularly pay attention or care might be stirred to do something. In the coming days, I will post some statistics and data relating to domestic violence in America. Many of our residents have been victims of this topic and some have chosen to leave their situations and face the prospects of homelessness rather than continue to have their lives (and the lives of their children in many cases) threatened.

When you donate to Samaritan House, you are helping people you will never meet, but who are embracing an uncertain future rather than remain in violent situations. Please take some time to consider how you might play a role in changing the lives of people dealing with an issue that too often places an emphasis on the violent perpetrator and not the innocent victims.