Domestic Violence and The Heights Family Services

Our church has partnered with area services for years to help people in need. We helped create the Anchor Home to shelter women with nowhere to go. We just finished collecting meat for Manna House to feed people in need. Several of you volunteered to help in Christian Women’s Job Corps, teaching skills that helped people become qualified for jobs.

Today, The Heights collaborates with many of these different non-profits to develop a holistic approach to domestic violence intervention. They hosted a special luncheon today at the Waxahachie Civic Center, helping to educate our community on the vast needs in our county and enlisting the support needed to fund these ministries. Jennifer Salzman led that effort, and she did a great job pointing to these component needs and the service now being provided right down the street from us. But it was the statistic she shared that floored me: one of every three people in America has been touched by domestic violence. 100,000,000 people in America have been the spouses, the children, or the elders who have been harmed and traumatized by domestic violence. That number is astounding to me.

Our church family already supports this effort with several of the partners in the Heights organization, but you probably didn’t know it. I’m so proud that we do, and I wanted you to know that we get to make a difference in our area—a difference in food, shelter, pastoral care, and practical needs that would otherwise go unmet and would amplify the trauma that victims have already experienced.

So today, I ask you to do something:

PRAY—These needs and this crisis probably don’t cross our minds until it’s our friends, our cousins, and our neighbors who are terrified and abused. Pray for this team. You’ll be praying for the folks you worship alongside at church: Laurie Henderson, Jennifer Salzman, Melinda Frazier, and a host of volunteers who give their time through the various organizations collaborating in The Heights.

VOLUNTEER—Help teach computer skills, stock Manna House’s shelves, provide toiletries and supplies, or discover how to raise awareness that HELP IS AVAILABLE.

Want to know more? Explore The Heights website so you know more about what’s happening and how to connect those in need with the help that’s available.