Contra Costa annual Rebuilding Lives Luncheon honors Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Concord, CA – On Thursday, October 6th at 11:30 a.m., STAND! For Families Free of Violence’s 24th Annual Rebuilding Lives Luncheon and more than 350 civic, business, and community leaders gathered at the Concord Hilton this year to honor Domestic Violence Awareness Month, celebrate the resilience of domestic violence survivors, and raise more than $140,000 for programs that help survivors of family violence.
Keynote speaker Tony Porter, Co-founder and CEO of A CALL TO MEN, addressed the role of men in ending violence against women. Exploring the influence that men have with boys and other men as fathers and coaches, he discussed how to encourage boys and men to stand up to those promoting men’s violence. “It is time to stop asking why women stay and starting asking men to stop.”
“Today it is clearer than ever that domestic violence is a men’s issue too. We will end this problem only when men, too end their silence around violence and tell each other this is no longer acceptable behavior. We need to change the conversation.” said Gloria Sandoval, CEO of STAND! For Families Free of Violence.
Though the movement to end family violence has made great progress, there is still work to be done: On average, one in four women and one in seven men will experience intimate partner violence severe enough to send them to the hospital; one in five teens will experience teen dating violence; and 3.2 million children will experience domestic violence in their homes annually. Awareness-raising events, such as the Rebuilding Lives Luncheon, are important for strengthening the movement as well as inspiring new supporters to help end domestic violence.
About STAND! For Families Free of Violence
STAND! helps 15,000 people in Contra Costa County break the intergenerational cycle of violence each year by saving lives, rebuilding families, and changing the future: intervening when violence strikes, supporting victims as they rebuild their lives, and guiding the community as a whole toward nonviolence. Visit www.standffov.org for more information.
