By Kaitlyn Carpenter
I am a single mom who had to relocate from another state due to an abusive relationship. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to obtain housing in a facility operated by a nonprofit organization. Being only 20, I encountered women from all ages and walks of life most with backgrounds and circumstances much worse than mine.
As I pieced my life back together I continuously thought of all the women dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and harassment in the workplace. I decided I would research the issue, become an advocate and help develop the needed solutions for a ‘victim’ to become a ‘survivor’
Did you know on average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year?
Did you know females’ ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 generally experienced the highest rates of intimate partner violence and from 1994 to 2010, about 4 in 5 victims of intimate partner violence were female?
Did you know that most female victims of intimate partner violence were previously victimized by the same offender, including 77% of females ages 18 to 24, 76% of females ages 25 to 34, and 81% of females ages 35 to 49
Did you know 81% of women who experienced rape, stalking, or physical violence by an intimate partner reported significant short- or long-term impacts such as post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and injury.
I didn’t know all of the above, but I found out when I started checking the statistics and decided to help the problem. I became a volunteer advocate and now Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of Your Nuhorizons, Inc. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission statement of raising the public awareness of domestic violence and related abuse through our Stop The Pain Now Public Awareness Campaign and to develop a comprehensive jobs training program for women victims of domestic violence.
www.domesticviolence.org said it best, “It’s a sobering reality for one in four women in the U.S. will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Female victims most commonly experience violence between the ages of 18-24 (38.6%), followed by age 11-17 (22.4%), age 35-44 (6.8%) and age 45+ (2.5%). Almost one out of five or 16.3% of murder victims in the U.S. were killed by an intimate partner; women account for two out of three murder victims killed by an intimate partner.”
We have to find the means to make ‘specific’ differences as well as ‘general’ differences. On average, it takes a victim seven times to leave before staying away for good. This is known as the “Seven Times Statistics”.
I learned through my own personal experience, and from many women that I came in contact with, that obtaining self sustaining employment is, in my opinion, the most essential component of transforming form ‘victim’ to ‘survivor’ and I am taking an active role in helping Your Nuhorizons, Inc. launch a first-of-its-kind Jobs For Women program for victims of domestic violence and related abuse.
Over the last year, Your Nuhorizons has developed a comprehensive workforce development program for victims and domestic violence and similarly situated individuals throughout Central New York – The ‘Nuhorizons Jobs For Women Program’. The program will not only provide job training, experience and assistance in qualifying for, locating and accessing permanent self sustaining employment, when fully implemented the program will assist participants in job readiness techniques such as resume preparing and job interview techniques and further offer participants access to educational and vocational online courses and programs, while other service providers provide essential housing and counseling services. The Program is free to participants.
I am calling on my generation for help. The program is uniquely designed, that with the help of social media influencers, without any cost to them, funds will be raised to both operate the program and at the same time job will be created through training. This will not only enhance the social good aspect of an influencer’s brand, it becomes a win-win situation for those in need of help at the same time.
At Your Nuhorizons, Inc. it is our mission to raise the public awareness of domestic violence and related abuse through social media, by asking friends and followers to link to one of the above sites or visit our DID YOU KNOW? Page at www.stopthepainnow.org or Friend and Follow us on Facebook @ NuHorizons.
By raising public awareness and finding solutions, I hope to demonstrate the passion that I have and help spread it to my generation for this very serious problem that exists in the United States today. If you know someone that may need help, or if you need that help yourself, call the national hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit https://www.thehotline.org/
If you would like to learn more and help us launch this pilot program, please get in touch today during October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Together, we can make a difference!
Kaitlyn Carpenter, 20, is an advocate and member of the NuHorizons Board of Directors. As a single mother who experienced her own personal circumstances, she is an advocate of raising public awareness of domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment, and to help raise the resources necessary to operate the first-of-its-kind pilot program NuHorizons Jobs For Women Program to provide job training, experience, and assistance in qualifying for, locating, and securing self-sustaining permanent community employment for women victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Through her contributions, she hopes to demonstrate the passion her generation has for this very serious problem that exists in the United States today. You can contact Kaitlyn at kaitlynnuhorizons@gmail.com or visit www.stopthepainnow.org.
