HotlinesA publication of the National Domestic Violence Hotline® (NDVH) Summer 2007

Hotline Launches Million Voices CampaignIn October, NDVH will officially launch the Million Voices Cam-paign to End Domestic Violence in partnership with the Gen-eral Federation of Women’s Club (GFWC). The new yearlong initiative aims to bring together more than 1 million individuals who hope for a country free from domestic violence and want to create change by engaging their communities through volun-teerism and public awareness activities.

“The launch of the Mil-lion Voices Campaign will address what has long been missing in domestic violence ser-vices prevention: an organized national ef-fort driven by dedicated volunteers raising their voices against domestic violence,” said NDVH CEO Sheryl Cates. “To-gether we will make his-tory and in so doing, we will raise the standard for domestic violence prevention in America.”

The program will launch with a formal reception at the GFWC headquar-ters in Washington, D.C. on October 9, 2007.

“As a Founding Member, the GFWC is promoting the Million Voices Campaign among our 145,000 members and will en-courage a large scale effort of volunteerism on a community

Continued on page 6

“Together we will make history and in so doing, we will raise the standard for domestic violence prevention in America.”

Continued on page 6

The 2007 Vital Link Awards, pre-sented to individuals or companies for their efforts in building awareness of family violence prevention and ser-vices, will be held in New York City on November 14. Honorees include Liz Claiborne, Inc., Redbook Magazine and domestic violence survivor Robin Givens.

“Through their actions, their donation and their commitment to change the reality of domestic violence in Amer-ica, these individuals and companies are shining examples of leadership through advocacy,” said Sheryl Cates, NDVH CEO. “We applaud their ef-forts and recognize their significant contributions to ending domestic vio-lence through the Vital Link awards.”

Liz Claiborne, Inc. has been working since 1991 to end domestic violence through it’s Love is not Abuse pro-gram. Last year, the company was instru-mental in creating the new National Teen Dat-ing Abuse Helpline with NDVH. The 24-hour na-tional web-based and telephone resource was created to help teens (ages 13­–18) experiencing dating abuse and is the only helpline in the country serving all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Redbook Magazine is currently working with the Hotline on a teen dating abuse awareness campaign, and recently received the distinguished National Magazine Award for General Excel-lence for Personal Service, because of its extensive coverage of domestic violence issues.

Jackie Pierce, President of GFWC and charter member of the Million Voices Campaign launches the initiative at the Federation’s annual meeting.

2007Vital Link

Awards

2007 Vital Link Awards Announced

Hotlines is published to provide information about National Domestic Violence Hotline services and operations, as well as national domestic violence issues and trends. It is a project of the Texas Council on Family Violence based in Austin, Texas. Materials from Hotlines may be reprinted without permission, using the following credit: “Hotlines, a publication of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Texas Council on Family Violence.”

National Advisory BoardDede Bartlett, Chair Carol BassEd Condon Anne CrewsDavid Diggs Diane EidmanMonica Getz Monica Graham Howard Greene Rose Kirk Maury Lane Regina Montoya Irene Natividad Ella Newman Jane Randel Barbara Roberts Gary Schwartz Susan Salter-Jansen Meredith Wagner

TCFV Board of DirectorsKim Vickers, AbilenePresident

Deborah Turner, El PasoVice President

MariBen Ramsey, Austin Treasurer

Gloria Terry, El PasoSecretary

Catrina Steinocher, Corpus ChristiCatherine Olde, Grand PrairieCaroline Vetterling, HoustonCarolyn Gilmour Truesdell, HoustonCassandra Thomas, HoustonShannon Trest, LongviewCharles L. Perry, LubbockJoe Love Nelson, LubbockAmando Gonzalez, McAllenMargi Preston, NacogdochesVirginia Lewis , NacogdochesDeborah Moseley, PasadenaLouise Thornell, TexarkanaSteve Fisher, Texarkana

Sheryl Cates,Chief Executive Officer

Rose PulliamPresident

National Domestic Violence HoltineThe Hotline is currently averaging over 18,000 calls a month.

NDVH 2007 Calls Received Calls In Answered

April 2007 18,323 16,828

May 2007 22,576 19,890

June 2007 20,043 17,681

July 2007 21,742 18,364

Totals 82,684 72,763

Hotline Donors The National Domestic Violence Hotline extends its deepest gratitude to the following contributors for their generosity (April 1– July 3­1, 2007)

Altria Group, IncICA/The Casler-Livingston FoundationLimited Brands FoundationLiz Claiborne FoundationMary Kay Ash Charitable FoundationOTC International LTD — Marie ClaireThe Allstate FoundationThe Body Shop

Hotline Stats

NDVH.org

Visit ndvh.org for Up-to-date news and information on the Hotline.

2 Hotlines 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) / 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

The voice on the other end of the line sounded uncer-tain, timid. The caller had just described unspeakable acts of control and violence against her and her nine-month-old baby. She often as if she could tolerate the physical abuse, she was growing increasingly frustrated over the financial control that he was exerting over her. He had gotten her fired from her previous job, and then he sold her car so that she could not go out looking for another job while he was at work. Though she had secretly been taking the bus to collect applications, he managed to find an application hidden in her bedside table. He beat her so badly that she was still covering the bruises three weeks later.

“I guess I’m not really ready to leave him yet. It was all I could do just to get that out. I’ve been rehearsing that in my head for so long that I never really thought about what I would do next,” she admitted.

There was a moment of silence as she gathered her thoughts. Through the quiet, I could hear her daughter coo in the background. I imagined the caller cradling the baby in her arms, treasuring the rare moments of peace and quiet that allowed her to think. I tried to give her that space. “I can’t do anything to please him,” she continued when she was ready. “I thought that having a child for him would make things better. But it just got worse. It’s like I can’t do any-thing right.”

“You did the right thing in calling today,” I assured her. “It took a lot of courage.”

There was another long silence. “Ma’am? Are you still there? Is everything alright?” I asked after a minute or two.

“Yes, actually,” she said, her voice sounding much more bold and assured. “You know, I’m always doing something to try and please him. Today I did something for me. And for once, I really do feel like I’m doing the right thing, even if I’m not really doing anything but talking.” She paused. “Thank you for allowing me to do that. To just say whatever is on my mind.”

The caller on the phone was ready to leave her situation. She had been planning for months, plotting about how she was going to escape the man who had held her captive in her own home for the last nine years. She had saved money in a secret bank account in her name, arranged temporary shelter at a relative’s house, and packed a bag of essentials into the trunk of her car.

“This man is dangerous,” she said. “I need to know that I am taking every precaution available.”

Together, we brainstormed about how she could stay safe during her escape. For the next thirty minutes we reviewed the items in her safety plan – she had already taken care of all of them. Just as we were ready to part ways, I re-membered something that I had heard on another call.

“One more thing,” I offered. “Did you back your car into the driveway so that you could make a quick escape if you needed to?”

“Ahhh… I hadn’t thought of that. See – two brains are better than one!” she said.

On the Line by Emily Toothman, NDVH Staff Writer

Every hour of every day, Hotline Advocates answer calls from around the nation. The calls are dramatic, touching and real.

www.ndvh.org Summer 2007 3

Decade For Change Summit Report to be Unveiled In The White HouseOn the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the National Domestic Violence Ho-tline, the Hotline hosted a DECADE FOR CHANGE SUMMIT, convening leaders in the domestic violence field and new partners for a series of three meetings that were held in Washington, DC; Dallas, Texas; and Los Angeles, California between October, 2006 and February, 2007. The goal was to create and explore new approaches and capture the hearts of our new partners to measurably reduce domestic violence in America by 2017.

The domestic violence movement both nationally and in Texas has made enormous strides in calling attention to and shaping the dialogue about domestic violence, as well as providing critical, life-saving services to millions. Despite our combined significant efforts over the past decades, 3­3­ million American women continue to experience abuse every year. “While we are proud that we have provided critical intervention services, we know our success can-not be measured only by expanded capacity to respond to violence, but, more importantly, by reducing the need of women and their families for our services by stopping violence before it happens,” said Sheryl Cates, CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

The vision of the SUMMIT was to bring new partners from a variety of sectors in society to not only share their perspective, but also to become leaders on the issue in their own sectors, advocating for other leaders to become involved in stopping domestic violence.

On October 3­, 2007, the Hotline will host a reception at the White House to roll out the final report of the Decade for Change SUMMIT, reflecting the recommen-dations and stated priorities for prevention articulated by the participants. This group of experts developed key themes with strategic recommendations to shift public perception about domestic violence; expand education efforts, especially those targeted to young children; specifically seek to influence men through public awareness and community-based outreach; and broaden outreach to youth and include them as a significant target audience for national communications strate-gies.

Invited guests include the leaders in the violence against women field, both domes-tically and internationally, as well as those integral to the SUMMIT’s success, our colleagues at the State Department’s Office of International Women’s Issues and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, the Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and the Office of Justice Programs, the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control.

The SUMMIT’s Call to Action is an opportunity to unify our collective wisdom to create a society of safety and hope for the next generation.

National Teen Dating Abuse Advisory Council Members Hold Dating Violence Awareness Event By Terra Anderson, Member National Teen Dating Abuse Advisory Council

Terra Anderson is a member of the Hotline’s Teen Advisory Council, that helped shaped the forma-tion of the loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. The following is an account in her own words of awareness efforts undertaken by her and her classmates at their school.

Dating abuse is one of many difficult issues facing teens today. As a member of the National Teen Dating Abuse Ad-visory Council, two of my fellow class-mates, Bryce Phillips, Jake Adams and I, confronted the issue last year as ju-niors at Durango High School. We put together a Relationship Abuse Aware-ness Assembly and performed it four times, once for each class. Each pre-sentation brought a greater depth of understanding to the unspoken realities of dating abuse in our community.

The assembly was kicked off by a seven minute video given to us by the National Domestic Violence Hotline and then went into a speech where Bryce, Jake, and I personally ad-dressed the students about the issue. Next, two of our school’s thespians presented anonymously written stories by students who had personally ex-perienced dating abuse. This was fol-lowed by the presentation of a poem in which a local artist discussed abuse, and a song written and performed by Bryce accompanied by a Power Point with the lyrics and pictures of real life victims. The 3­5 minute assembly sig-nificantly impacted us.

“At first I didn’t realize what I was get-ting into. I had no idea how powerful it would be.” Jake reflects, “People were amazed by how common abuse was; that it was happening to kids they had classes with.” The student body was Continued on the next page

4 Hotlines 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) / 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

At the beginning of 2007, the National Domestic Vio-lence Hotline leadership team put their heads together to give the expanding Hotline more breathing room. The once adequate space was beginning to suffocate the swelling team of Advocates, and there certainly would not be any room for future growth.

With the help of some architectural experts — and a whole lot of legwork from a dedicated team of em-ployees — plans were drawn. Almost immediately, the Advocates were moved to a temporary call center fash-ioned from an open conference area and a few phones and laptops, and construction began on what would eventually become the new, refurbished Hotline room. Employees were shuffled, offices were relocated, walls were knocked down, and doors were removed. Con-struction was finished in just a few days. What emerged was a much more comfortable area for Hotline Advo-cates to work, with more office space and a brand new lounge area. And, perhaps most importantly, there was now more room for veterans and new faces alike on the ever-expanding Hotline Team.

However, even with the construction now complete, the renovations themselves have not come to an end. Target – in a gracious display of support for the work of the Hotline – has agreed to donate new cubicles, chairs, and décor to the Hotline.

Representatives from Target worked with members of the Hotline Team to examine the needs of the Advocates, both func-tionally and aesthetically. When Target representatives toured the Hotline area, they saw Advocates covering their ears so that they could hear the callers at the other end of the line. Employees of the Hotline were sitting for hours upon hours in mismatched chairs that did not conform to their er-gonomic needs. The walls were a stark white, and the carpet was stained and frayed from years of continuous wear and tear. While the Hotline space was functional, it was certainly not ideal for the needs of the Advocates.

Recently, Target representatives presented a renovation proposal to the Hotline team. The plan included larger cubicles with more sound insulation, matching chairs that adjusted for the ergonomic needs of each Advocate and a decorating scheme that would soothe the Advocates while they worked and create an atmosphere of warmth and tranquility. Target even offered to throw in some new furniture for the Hotline break room. Advocates and supervisors were tremendously excited to see the sam-ples of paint, carpeting, and fabrics that would adorn the Hotline room. The proposal was enthusiastically ap-proved. Representatives from the Hotline and from Tar-get expect to implement the changes and complete the finishing touches by the end of the summer.

By Emily Toothman, NDVH Staff Writer

NDVH Call Center Gets a Facelift

extremely taken by the information we presented. “They actually sat down and listened. You could have heard a pin drop throughout the entire assembly. I’ve never seen teenagers sit still like that before,” said Linda Pepper, vice principal and the woman who made this all possible. “It was truly moving.”

We concluded that the success of our endeavor was attrib-uted to the peer-on-peer dynamic. Students saw peers, to whom they could relate, standing up for a cause. Also, the stories we used were from students that attend our school. These were women and men whom we see every day in the halls, smile at during passing periods, and share notes with in class. The reality of their pain was a powerful shocker to many, and a catalyst for silent victims to speak out and find comfort. Having thespians perform the monologues made the impact even greater. Kaylen’s Song, written by Bryce

and fellow student Holland Breed, was very powerful. The lyrics were inspired by a poem and added an artistic flair and a deeper level of vulnerability that connected with the student body.In the end, it wasn’t just our targeted peers who were im-pacted by the assembly. Bryce, Jake, and I were heavily impacted as well. As Bryce put it, “All in all I learned to think before I judge. We gave the violence a face; they’re not just stats to me anymore.” Jake added, “People have volumes of stories. We need to spread the word this, about student lead, student run principle. We need to get people talking. I didn’t realize three kids could make such a big difference.” Our efforts empowered the teenage community in the anti-violence movement. We made it known that dating abuse doesn’t have to be such a taboo subject. If nothing else, together we were able to break the silence.

National Teen Dating Abuse Advisory Council Promote AwarenessContinued from page 4

www.ndvh.org Summer 2007 5

basis,” said Jackie Pierce, president of GFWC and an ad-vocate for domestic violence prevention.

Nannette White, chair of the GFWC Domestic Violence Committee, is working with state chairpersons and regional leaders to enroll GFWC members individually in the cam-paign and volunteer activities.

NDVH urges individuals and organizations to join this unpar-alleled effort by visiting www.ndvh.org/million. Members are asked to share their contact information with NDVH and agree that: domestic violence must be stopped in America; they will speak out against domestic violence and tell friends, family and co-workers about the Hotline as a source for help.

The Million Voices Campaign encourages members to edu-cate, inform and raise awareness about domestic violence prevention and services in their communities. Free educa-tional materials and various resources will be provided on the campaign website to help volunteers spread the word. Membership is free, but anyone who wishes to donate to the campaign can do so online.

All members receive an official membership card as well as e-mail news updates and invitations to major campaign

events. A major goal of the campaign is to create a sense of community online, where members can share volunteer ideas, strategies to engage local communities and their own personal experiences with domestic violence.

Domestic violence must end in America. The Million Voices Campaign will be the Hotline’s first major initiative to dem-onstrate that individuals and organizations across the coun-try are committed to seeing that end.

Continued from page 1

Million Voices Campaign Reaches Out

Survivor and actress Robin Givens has raised awareness of domestic violence in her memoir, Grace Will Lead Me Home. The book chronicles her rela-tionship with ex-husband Mike Tyson and reveals a history of domestic vio-lence that has haunted her family for three generations.

Individual tickets are still available at $250 as are event sponsorships at various levels. Current Platinum level sponsors for the event include CTIA The Wireless Foundation, FedEx and Ver-zion. For more information about sup-porting this year’s Vital Link Awards, contact Denise Oviedo at doviedo@ndvh.org.

ABC’s Prime Time Airs Hotline NumberOn July 3­1, ABC’s Prime Time aired the story of Susan, whose 13­-year-old son was ordered to tape her for 51 minutes as she was violently beaten and abused by her husband. Susan lived to tell her story, and – with the videotape as a testimony to the violence – she saw her husband sentenced to 3­6 years in prison for his crimes against her. The sentence is the longest to date to be given for a domestic violence crime not involving the death of the victim.

Susan’s anthem that “today’s the day” to escape the violence resounded with viewers, who were then guided to the NDVH number. Call volume at the Hotline jumped by approximately 2,000% (20 times) the average in the thirty minutes after the number was first aired. The lines rang 293­ times in the time between 9:3­0 and 10:00 pm (as opposed to the 14 times it rang at the same time on the same date last year).

Vital Link Awards Return to New York

Time Period (CST)Calls In

(July 31, 2007)

Calls In (July 31, 2006)

Percent Increase

9:00 p.m. – 9:3­0 p.m. 22 14 57% 9:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. 293 14 1,993% 10:00 p.m. – 10:3­0 p.m. 44 11 3­00% 10:3­0 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. 44 16 175% 11:00 p.m. – 11:3­0 p.m. 3­1 17 82% 11:3­0 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. 20 10 100% 12:00 a.m. – 12:3­0 a.m. 13­ 4 225% 12:30 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. 62 5 1,140%

Continued from page 1

6 Hotlines 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) / 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

On February 8 of this year, Liz Claiborne, Inc. and NDVH partnered to intro-duce loveisrespect — the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline (NTDAH), the first service to offer both phone and web-based chat advocacy specifically geared toward a teen audience, staffed by peer advocates.

Since launching in February, peer advocates at NTDAH have provided thousands of teens, parents, and service providers with information and advocacy concerning dating abuse. “We get a lot of questions about healthy relationships,” said a NTDAH peer advocate. “It may turn out their relation-ship is abusive, but the teen contacting us doesn’t usually label it that way. I have also talked to lots of parents that wanted to know how they could help their daughter or son end an abusive relationship.”

The Helpline continues to offer twenty-four-hour availability via phone, but has expanded the initial availability of the one-on-one chat advocacy by two hours. “Our chat is now open from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m. Central Standard Time,” said Candice Kesling, NTDAH Operations Manager. “We wanted to ensure that teens, especially those on the West Coast, have more chance to use the chat during hours that work for them. We know that in the future it may be nec-essary to expand those hours even further.”

As the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline approaches its six month anniversary, plans are in place to expand outreach and awareness of services with two additional features: a new, interactive website and a MySpace profile. On September 25th, Liz Claiborne, Inc. hosted It’s Time to Talk Day, a day for focusing on domestic and dating violence by encouraging individual and media attention to the issue. The same day, NTDAH launched an enhanced website and MySpace profile. Both offer more infor-mative and interactive content,

safety tips, quizzes, blogs, contests, and a new dating bill of rights. “We’re hoping these new features will help us continue to engage teens experi-encing dating abuse as well as those who may not be experiencing it directly, but are just concerned about the issue and want to get involved,” explained Kesling.

However, Kesling points out, safety remains a serious concern at NTDAH. “Our new website has an option to sign up for an e-newsletter in order to receive up-dates from us, but we really want to stress safety and the option to remain anon-ymous for anyone contacting us. On a call or a chat, we don’t ask for their names or track IP addresses.” NTDAH continues to offer live 24-hour assistance from trained peer advocates on the phone at 866-3­3­1-9474 (or 866-3­3­1-8453­ TTY) and chat (4 p.m. – 2 a.m. CST) through www.loveisrespect.org. NTDAH’s MySpace profile can be found at www.myspace.com/ntdah.

The Teen Helpline’s New Blog

By Stephanie Wilson, NDVH Staff Writer

National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline Continues To Expand Web PresenceLaunch of MySpace Profile and Blog Help to Raise Awareness

www.ndvh.org Summer 2007 8

A Project of the Texas Council on Family ViolenceP.O. Box 161810Austin, TX 78716

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 13­74

Austin, Texas

The Hotline continues to evolve and grow. With the launch of the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline in February, the Hotline has extended its reach to include teenage and adolescent girls and boys. Now, we are working to push the Hotline even further to-wards reaching all those in need of domestic violence support and assistance.

Today, we are one million voices stronger as we advance our out-reach to ensure access to safety for the multi-generations dealing with the impact of domestic violence and searching for messages on how to create healthier relationships. Working together with the General Federation of Women’s Club, we’ve launched the Million Voices Campaign, which provides individuals with a new way to use their voice to end domestic violence in our nation.

Target has become an amazing partner in creating a supportive office environment. Target’s thoughtful contribution not only affected advocates, but also enhanced the assistance provided to callers in

need of help. We are grateful to Target for gifting our advocates with office improvements.

As younger generations search for understanding on how to form healthier relationships, the Hotline is working diligently in partner-ship with Liz Claiborne, to ensure they find answers to their impor-tant questions at the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. Our outreach efforts have expanded to blogs and Myspace, and will continue to grow to ensure our children and young adults have ac-cess to safety and information.

Domestic violence is a complex issue affecting multi-generations and all cultures. As we look forward to a Decade for Change, we will continue to evolve by growing our partnerships and increasing the number of volunteers who lend their voice to the movement to end domestic violence. Through this work, we ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background, will have access to resources and safety.

Sheryl CatesChief Executive Officer, National Domestic Violence Hotline

The CEO’s Line

In this Issue:Million Voices CampaignThe Hotline reaches out to raise awareness. 1 Loveisrespect Expands Reach

Find out How the Teen Helpline is expanding its web-based outreach 75Call Center Renovations

Target helps the Hotline renovate its workspace