Insights ~ July 2019

Call to Action!

Many luncheon attendees asked what they could do to make a difference for domestic violence survivors. Our luncheon speaker, Caroline Bettinger-López, suggests the following:

Contact your town’s government officials and request that they adopt a resolution or proclamation recognizing that freedom from domestic violence is a human right. Contact SHALVA for examples of resolutions.
Call or email your senators to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). You can reach Senator Tammy Duckworth here and Senator Dick Durbin here.
Sign up for email updates from SHALVA and others such as National Network to End Domestic Violence and Futures Without Violence to learn about issues facing domestic violence survivors year-long.
Host a gathering in your home, office or congregation to learn about healthy vs. unhealthy relationships and how to help someone in an abusive relationship, facilitated by a SHALVA staff member.

Welcome New Board Member Andrea Yusim Meltzer

SHALVA welcomes new board member Andrea Yusim Meltzer. Andrea is the CEO and Co-Founder of Compatibility LLC, a women-owned company that develops unique, evidence-based technology for matching people to optimize performance of individuals and teams.

Andrea may be new to the board, but she has been involved with SHALVA for many years. She has provided consulting services and communication skills workshops to SHALVA and has been a longtime donor.

“I am deeply moved by and supportive of SHALVA’s mission; in fact, I have referred women to SHALVA and am grateful that SHALVA was able to help them. I realize that, for SHALVA to exist and thrive, it requires a dedicated team of professional and lay leaders, and I am honored to be able to play a role in ensuring its sustainability and success,” says Andrea.

Andrea and her husband Jeffrey live in Skokie, and they are the proud parents of Gabriella (husband Gregory) and Tamar.

Client Story*

Rachel and Seth recently got divorced, but they continue to belong to the same synagogue. As part of the divorce, Rachel has an Order of Protection against Seth because he was physically abusive throughout their marriage. She was afraid he would show up at her friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah, even though he was not invited.

When Rachel’s friend Janie suggested she call SHALVA, Rachel responded that SHALVA only helped married women. At the SHALVA luncheon last month, her friend learned that you do not have to be married to get help at SHALVA and they help women at any stage of their abuse.

Rachel called and made an appointment to figure out how she could attend the Bar Mitzvah. She practiced what to say to the rabbi with her therapist and met with him later that week and showed him the Order of Protection. The rabbi knew about SHALVA and understood the seriousness of the situation. He gave the head of security a photo of her husband and worked with Rachel and his team on a plan for the day of the event and in the future.

Thanks to your support, Rachel received safety planning and counseling at no charge and her friends and rabbi learned about SHALVA’s services. When the day of the Bar Mitzvah arrived, Rachel was prepared. Her ex-husband did show up, but he was quietly removed without a scene. Rachel felt supported by her community and everyone was able to celebrate the Bar Mitzvah boy.

* All names have been changed to respect client confidentiality.