VISIONARIES

Before us is a rare opportunity to tell our story to persons in 70 million households. If that happens, what might the results be?

Increased support?
More people praying for our clients and their well-being?
Persons who have been victimized find a source of help and hope?

Perhaps we would realize all three of these potential results. However, if I had to choose one, it would be that individuals who have suffered from violence find a source of help and hope.

You might be asking how that help and hope could possibly happen since Safe Places is a small nonprofit organization in Central Arkansas. A better description of Safe Places might give you the answer, and these are a few possible descriptions that have been suggested by some people who really know us:

Safe Places is a small nonprofit with a huge mission and vision. Safe Places is the "little engine that could." Safe Places sits in a house on Broadway in Little Rock, but it serves people all over the world.

It's true! Really!

Now here's a story you might be interested in - a true story that happened in the past two weeks as told by one of our victim advocates:

I received a call from a woman in Northwest Arkansas seeking help for her sister and her sister's daughter who are suffering violence from her husband and his boss. The thing is that she resides in Mexico. Anyway, the woman told me that her sister was almost killed two days ago by a powerful politician in her home town. He tried to strangle her and left her near dead. She is now in critical condition at the hospital. Because the husband is politically connected, he is having his wife monitored and also keeping an eye on her sisters, who are caring for her. Because it is a small town with a great deal of corruption, they fear retaliation. According to other sisters that live nearby, they have no resources and they are desperately looking for some help outside of their town.

After researching several options, I was able to find possible help for the sisters and for the victim. I made some long distance calls to contact two of the agencies at a national level that might be able to intervene in defense of this woman since they affiliated with rights for women, shelters and protection for women in living with domestic violence.

I am also contacting the director of the National Institute for Women in México, to see if she can provide me with more resources or to see if her office can intervene to protect this woman before she gets killed, either by the husband or the politician.

We continue to cross the borders with new cases. Tomorrow, I will be meeting with the FBI to assist with six new trafficking victims.

The End Result (thus far) of this True Story . . .

Just want to let you know the outcome of the request I received last week about the women in Mexico.

Her sister in NW Arkansas called me yesterday with news that she has been rescued by the authorities. I guess all the long distance calls I had to make to Mexico paid off after all. The great thing is that they took the situation seriously and mobilized the police to remove mother and daughter from that situation. It is my understanding that a formal investigation will begin to prosecute her husband and the politician abusing all the women in the town.

I am very proud of the sister for asking for help, but I am even more proud that the victim decided to speak up. Thanks to her, other women might be saved as well. Just when I thought that Mexico had no good stories, this is definitely one.

Obviously, jurisdictional issues prevented the FBI from intervening in the case, and even when the Mexican Consulate told her they couldn’t do anything, we did! All it took was the research, finding the right people and the willingness to go the extra mile to serve someone in need.

It feels pretty good!

Indeed it does feel pretty good! It feels great, in fact, to once again be reminded that the "little engine that could" not only could, but did.

That's Safe Places! And that's why Visionaries wants to profile our work.

We hope you'll help make it possible by underwriting even in a small way, by offering to host the field producer and film crew for a reception when they are here, by hosting the film's premier event here in Little Rock, and by helping us give them a real Arkansas-style welcome!

For underwriting specifics, contact Field Producer Jody Santos at jodys@visionaries.org

or read the full proposal at:
http://www.safeplaceslr.org/VISIONARIES.html

http://www.visionaries.org/