Nations Largest Phone Company Verizon Wireless, joins forces with Altria Group, Inc., Nationwide Foundation, AllState Foundation and Publix Supermarket Charities to keep Dream Alive

Norcross, GA (PRWEB) May 6, 2004

“When you come from a family where this type of behavior was the norm I think you are just wired differently. Growing up my mother was horribly abused by two stepfathers. To the extent that she even miscarried two pregnancies. My brother and I went to bed at night hearing our mother getting the crap beat out of her. Black eyes and excuses like “I bumped into the kitchen cabinet” were what was used to explain all of this. I tended to minimize my abuse by comparing it to my mother’s abuse.

My husband was not beating me as “badly” as my mother had been beat so I stayed, it was that simple. I was going to keep my family intact at any cost.

Life in a shelter for abused women is hard to explain. The broken lives are scattered all around you in the shape of the other women and children that are staying in the same safe house as you are. It is somewhat like being in a college dormitory. Except nobody is laughing or smiling. Everybody is trying to piece back together whatever they can salvage out of the wreckage of the marriages or relationships they are leaving. The children have other children to play with that have gone through similar situations which is somehow comforting to them I believe. To know it is not just them that are going through this hell.”

The years went by and the abuse grew. I would periodically leave and hope that my absence would initiate a change in our relationship. It never happened. By this time my husband had begun to abuse cocaine. First in the powdered form, then he was using crack cocaine. He did not have a history of substance abuse other than marijuana and beer when I met him but once he discovered cocaine things spiraled downwards with a vengeance.

The years have gone by. I have learned to be self sufficient to a great degree. I am learning even more ways of being self reliant by being in the WADT class for micro-enterprise.

The past is the past and I look forward to a beautiful future. I value myself and I don’t accept any violence in my life, emotional or physical. I am a much stronger woman today, but there is still work to be done.

Thanks to WADT it is within my grasp.

Some things never change. But some things do! (Thanks Dr. Williams for the chance!!!)” -C.H December 8, 2003(Story was presented to Weyerhaeuser Employees Xmas Angels)

Close your eyes and imagine living every moment in fear and on the edge, afraid to move the wrong way, order the wrong toppings on pizza for fear of being beaten. Imagine your small innocent children not being able to live the lives of other children laughing and playing, because they see their father beat their mother and even being abused themselves. Now add a disabled child to the mix, take the time to think about what life must be like if it were like that.

The question to ask is what does one do after the batterer has been prosecuted? What are our responsibilities as a civil society? To the victims and the innocent by-standers (the children). Where does she begin, the “day after”, economically?

The kids need to be housed, fed, they need healthcare services, childcare services, because the mom has to work, the mom needs to learn to joggle her schedules between work, parenting, hospital, PTA meetings and emotional scars, court appearances for both prosecution and child custody battles. It is difficult enough being poor, but with domestic abuse the poverty is further exacerbated, problem much compounded, and breaking the cycle much intense.

HOW does she move on? How does she recover from all these batterer-generated risks? How does she break this cycle of abuse? How can she be reprogrammed to have hope in the face of despair?

Some women in our group have disabled kids who require frequent hospitalization in order to stay alive. How does one move on with all these everyday struggles?

From Domestic Violence to Freedom from Servitude- ‘One is never too old to Learn, it’s never too late to dream”-WADT Spring 2004 Alumni

“I am writing this letter to you because for the past three months, I have been participating in an entrepreneurial class for women. I am 79 yrs young and on May 2nd, I will be 80. I joined this class with my daughter and neighbor. My daughter and I are floral designers and gift basket Specialist and in the past we have taken several classes, but I have never been as excited as I am now because Dr. Williams, our instructor and program coordinator has taken all of our training to a level we never thought was possible for us. In the past year our work has been featured at South Dekalb Mall during the holidays, and just this past Valentines Day we were invited back.

We are very excited about our growth and we have great expectations for our business this year. It is our goal to become the premier floral design and gift basket specialty service in Atlanta. Some of our accomplishments to date are: 1.We have become incorporated 2) We have received our EIN numbers 3)We have been introduced to some very important people to further our business 4)We have received contracts with some of them.”

-Open letter to Governor Perdue’s office written by Creative Designs Unlimited Inc. WADT ALUMNI SPRING 2004

The above-mentioned scenario is often the transformations our program participants experience. Within 12 weeks, they go from not being able to afford the basic necessities to being able to afford much more and move slowly towards self-sufficiency. They become radiant, they are happier and vibrant, they feel “they can conquer the world”

Keeping the Dream Alive

Verizon Wireless (Nations largest phone company) now has joined hands with Altria, Nationwide Insurance, AllState Foundation and Publix Supermarket Charities pledging continued support for Women Are Dreamers Too to provide on-going business training and counseling services to survivors of Domestic violence.

These grants in essence are helping to give hope, they are Truly HOPELINES to our candidates in their desperate moment of need. These Corporations are helping to bring decency and dignity as well as peace of mind, to WADT candidates. The candidates are being retrained to hope and dream once again in their own little ways. The women retrain, become self-sufficient, their children benefit from their hopes and aspirations.

The economic downturn, the reductions in charitable giving, coupled with enormous demand has made these grants well timed, that Women Are Dreamers Are Too are forever grateful, to Verizon Wireless, Altria, Nationwide Insurance, AllState Foundation and Publix Supermarket Charities for their Partnerships and continued support.

For additional information about Verizon Wireless please visit:

http://www.verizonwireless.com

For additional information about Altria Groups, Inc. please visit:

http://www.altria.com

For additional information about Nationwide Foundation please visit:

http://www.nationwide.com

For additional information about AllState Foundation please visit:

http://www.allstate.com

For additional information about Publix Supermarket Charities, please visit: http://publix.com

For additional information about Women Are Dreamers Too, please visit http://www.wadt.org or call 678/ 421-0191 Fax: 678/421-0708.

Women Are Dreamers Too graduated the Spring class on March 26th 2004.

Next class is scheduled to commence on May 28th, 2004.

Contact Information:

Cindy Williams, Ph.D.

Women Are Dreamers Too Inc.

678 421-0191

Fax: 678/ 421-0708

http://www.wadt.org