Incase you are wondering why the employees were served through this event instead of the victims who are staying in the SafePlace facility it is because the employees of this incredible organization deserve to be honored for their sacrifices! The counseling team at times suffer from what is known as "compassion fatigue" and we wanted to help in any way possible to minimize this in their lives. Compassion Fatigue is caused by the amount of stress and heartache that the counselors take on during their efforts to counsel the women and children who are actually living out this nightmare of abuse in their lives. Let's say, for example, that Jenny is a therapist at SafePlace who counsels Amy who has recently sought out SafePlace for help during her efforts to break free from her pimp who kidnapped her from a shopping mall at 15 and has been selling her to 20 men a day for the last 3 years. Jenny will take Amy through the emotional healing process for the next year and during that year Amy will share some of her darkest recollections and heartache with Jenny. Jenny does not make nearly enough money to even live above the poverty line working at SafePlace, despite her masters degree in psychology and her decade of experience in the field. Financial gain is not something she or anyone working with SafePlace can seek because they will be left sorely disappointed considering they make a fraction of what their colleagues outside the nonprofit sector make. These men and women are in it to HELP, they are in it to make a difference in our community. They hear the dark and dirty and they live through it, baring the weight of the heartache of their patients seeking restoration. These people do not simply show up to work collect a pay check and leave work at the building of SafePlace but instead they carry it home, they are praying for these people, they are often times using what little they do make to sew back into the organization that they choose to provide their services to. Their patients become part of their life and because of that we want to honor them by donating services and fun for their enjoyment. A.C.T.S group members want them to know that the ATX community values them and NEEDS them to continue to fight this battle with their patients. We just absolutely LOVE SafePlace and we want to not only help them reach the victims but also help them staff quality people who know their value in this community. Thank you for all of your donations and support, we absolutely love you too!
On a brisk December morning, the kids and parents of A.C.T.S gathered our efforts and our communities donations for an incredible cause! Our children managed the bake sale table where they learned how to make change during their transactions as well as how to interact with community and make sales. The moms and dads of A.C.T.S spent weeks collecting donations, pricing, organizing, and preparing for this fun, learning filled experience. This fundraiser was a little different from what you might expect. Our efforts raised just over $400.00 and went to providing special perks for the counseling team at SafePlace. Incase you are wondering why the employees were served through this event instead of the victims who are staying in the SafePlace facility it is because the employees of this incredible organization deserve to be honored for their sacrifices! The counseling team at times suffer from what is known as "compassion fatigue" and we wanted to help in any way possible to minimize this in their lives. Compassion Fatigue is caused by the amount of stress and heartache that the counselors take on during their efforts to counsel the women and children who are actually living out this nightmare of abuse in their lives. Let's say, for example, that Jenny is a therapist at SafePlace who counsels Amy who has recently sought out SafePlace for help during her efforts to break free from her pimp who kidnapped her from a shopping mall at 15 and has been selling her to 20 men a day for the last 3 years. Jenny will take Amy through the emotional healing process for the next year and during that year Amy will share some of her darkest recollections and heartache with Jenny. Jenny does not make nearly enough money to even live above the poverty line working at SafePlace, despite her masters degree in psychology and her decade of experience in the field. Financial gain is not something she or anyone working with SafePlace can seek because they will be left sorely disappointed considering they make a fraction of what their colleagues outside the nonprofit sector make. These men and women are in it to HELP, they are in it to make a difference in our community. They hear the dark and dirty and they live through it, baring the weight of the heartache of their patients seeking restoration. These people do not simply show up to work collect a pay check and leave work at the building of SafePlace but instead they carry it home, they are praying for these people, they are often times using what little they do make to sew back into the organization that they choose to provide their services to. Their patients become part of their life and because of that we want to honor them by donating services and fun for their enjoyment. A.C.T.S group members want them to know that the ATX community values them and NEEDS them to continue to fight this battle with their patients. We just absolutely LOVE SafePlace and we want to not only help them reach the victims but also help them staff quality people who know their value in this community. Thank you for all of your donations and support, we absolutely love you too!
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On Saturday, June 28th A.C.T.S Community Outreach hosted a "diaper shower" at one of our member's houses. The event was incredible! In true Holy Spirit fashion, he had each member working on their assignments and when all of our puzzle pieces came together, it is was a puzzle we were excited to see and relish in! If you haven't been to our Facebook page yet I encourage you to do so to watch a recap on the event and a little further down on this blog post you will get to see the donation day at SafePlace. There is something to be learned in every challenge that God allows you to face, don't ever think that your efforts are in vain, that your contributions are insignificant, or that you have to do this alone! This incredible group of people partnering together in the community is so fascinating to me. We gather for the purpose of people loving, that's it. Some of us don't know Jesus, some of us know him and are in a place of wanting to know him outside of the church building walls, some of us want to remain neutral and just be a vessel of refreshing love to the city of Austin there are no requirements to be involved in A.C.T.S besides an open mind and heart for all of the work we can accomplish in the name of LOVE! This was the heart behind the diaper party, "let's throw a party and raise as many diapers, formula, and toiletries for the babies who are staying at safe place, then let's go donate them to the shelter and see what other needs are needing to be met" sounds good to me let's do it! After weeks of prayer, anticipation, and preparation we gathered on that Saturday morning and watched the donations and the Spirit pour in ... literally! We had several members who had collected so much from the community that it seemed as though their trips to their trucks were going to last the duration of the party! We had two amazing speakers who shared two different perspectives on SafePlace and had the whole room stunned and silenced as they shared their stories. The Guest Speakers: Adrienne Devine Lutz, a therapist who worked as a Counselor at SafePlace, opened the door of insight by enlightening us on her experience as a confidant for the people who entered the doors. She gave us insight to the heart behind the people working there and the refreshment that can be offered, not only to the people staying at SafePlace and using their resources but also to the people who choose to make people a priority over salary and work at SafePlace. Katy Haynes, a survivor of domestic violence, gave us a first hand look, not only at the services that were offered to her at SafePlace but a graphic visual of what could have been her last night alive. The Message: Both woman describe SafePlace as being an oasis in a dry dessert of resources for woman, men, and children experiencing domestic violence and abuse. The SafePlace organization has done an incredible job of setting up services for everything a survivor might need in order to overcome their circumstances. SafePlace has even began training organizations all over the globe on how they can better serve the handicap community. THE SAD REALITY IS THAT THE ABUSE RATE IN THE HANDICAP COMMUNITY IS SO MUCH GREATER due to their inability to act or fight at the time the incident occurs. For shelters like SafePlace, and others all around the globe, it is vital that handicap communities everywhere are aware of the resources that are out there for them and that the shelters are prepared to serve them. SafePlace has been around for over 30 years and can house up to 150 emergency visitors at a time plus 150 more people who can extend their stay at the SafePlacce facility if they so choose and then can utilize the services for things like childcare, food aid, clothing donations, baby necessities (like A.C.T.S donated), life building skills i.e financial management classes, job training, community building events and so much more! Though 150 emergency beds and 150 long term beds seems like a lot to offer, SafePlace is the largest facility we have in Texas that serves domestic abuse victims and the next facility to even come close to comparing in size is in the Williamson county area only capable of accommodating 30 people. With 1,493 abuse cases being reported last year alone and estimating that statistically only 1 in 5 victims ever report their case there are simply no words to describe my disappointment in availability for aid for everyone, but especially these children. It isn't to say that there aren't incredible people trying to bridge the gap and help the community suffering from abuse in anyway they can but they need help. |
AuthorCarrissa Bradford started A.C.T.S Community outreach in 2014 to invite people to join her as she experiments with pouring love out on to the city of Austin, Tx. With help from the Holy Spirit, Carrissa hopes to find and fulfill her purpose and bring her puzzle piece to God's puzzle building table Archives
August 2015
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