the-business-of-me-blog

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has not been reauthorized

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:05:15 +0100

VAWA provides funds to investigate and prosecute crimes against women. It also provides critical funding to organizations who work with victims. VAWA is yet another example of how women’s issues are being politicized.

Not one Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee voted to reauthorize the bill (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/opinion/republicans-retreat-on-domestic-violence.html?_r=1).Previously VAWA was reauthorized by unanimous consent but not this time. If VAWA is not reauthorized critical funding to help victims will disappear and women and their children will be in grave danger!

Domestic violence affects 1 in 4 women regardless of their political affiliation. Politics has no place when it comes to keeping women and children safe.

I am disgusted that men are making life and death decisions regarding women’s issues.

If you feel as I do please contact your congressperson and senator and tell them to stop playing politics with VAWA and reauthorize it now! You can find your representative here: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml and your Senators here: http://www.senate.gov/. Please contact them and tell them to re-authorize VAWA.

Don’t Blame Rihanna

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:56:35 +0100

Yesterday I was interviewed by two different media outlets about Rihanna and Chris Brown. Rihanna and Chris Brown have been all over the news since they reconciled – and many are asking, what is Rihanna thinking? I am being asked "why would she even consider returning to a man who beat her so brutally?"

The reasons a woman returns to her abuser are numerous and complex. Studies show that a woman will return to her abuser 7 or 8 times before she can make the break for good. Many women return for economic reasons– they are not employed or can’t find affordable housing – but that is certainly not Rihanna’s problem. Other victims return due to family or religious pressure when family members make her feel that she somehow did something wrong and brought the abuse on herself.

Some women believe they still care for the abuser. According to The Chicago Sun-Times Rihanna has told her best friends that she simply needs Brown back in her life. Without him, despite her mega-success, she has told pals she feels emotionally “empty.”

Rihanna is talented, glamorous, rich and a victim of abuse. Rihanna, like so many victims, is not ready to move on and we can only hope that she remains safe. My concern is that despite the anger management classes Chris Brown has attended he still displays combative behavior which can be turned on Rihanna - as he did in the past.

Just Do It

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:53:31 +0100

On February 9th I talked about Ravelle (http://www.nancysstory.com/nancys-blog.php) who at age 74 still needs to work as she neglected to save for her retirement. As Ravelle says “I could be the poster girl for the fact that women — even smart ones — are very bad financial planners” (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pf_article_111154.html).

Tomorrow does not take care of itself – you do. So for all the Ravelle’s out there – get started today!

Get started by gathering all your statements regarding what you own and what you owe. Get the most recent credit card statements, personal loan statements, home equity line of credit and any other liabilities you might have. You might be surprised that you don’t owe as much as you think.

Now gather all your investment and pension statements and bank statements. That’s it for today. Getting organized is the first step. We’ll talk about next steps in upcoming posts.

Domestic Violence Agency Loses Its Funding

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:27:42 +0100

A Washington D.C. domestic violence agency lost its funding (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-domestic-violence-agency-weave-to-close-leaving-clients-scrambling/2012/02/01/gIQA2kpflQ_story.html).According to the Washington Post the agency lost two government grants due to possible mismanagement of funds. My purpose in writing this post is not to pass judgment on the agency but to highlight that another domestic violence agency has closed.

The days of non-profits relying on grants is over – and I have been writing about this dilemma for months. As Maurice Bretzfield, our January guest expert said (http://www.thebusinessofme.com/the-business-of-me-blog.php)“Priorto 2008, and for the last several decades preceding our economic crisis, while never easy, fundraising and community support was sufficient to fund the needs of most shelters. Average tried and true efforts were effective enough to raise those funds and while some more than others were creative in their fundraising methods not a lot of “out of the box” thinking was needed. Those days are gone and we can’t expect them to return anytime soon, if ever. As Thomas L. Friedman puts it, “average is over”. To thrive in these new environment shelter operators must start to think differently.”

Unfortunately this Washington D.C. domestic violence agency is another example of a non-profit that “did not think outside of the box” and it’s their clients and staff members who pay the price.

What Are Shelters to Do?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:27:15 +0100

Today Maurice Bretzfield (www.mauricebretzfield.com) internet and business strategist is a guest blogger and talks about how shelters can survive uncertain economic times.

Women’s shelters across our country are facing a crisis. The economic downturn has caused a perfect storm of increased demand for services and decreased funding. The decrease in contributions to the support of these shelters has been across the board – since 2008 shelters have seen that federal, state and local governments are no longer able to provide the levels of support they once did and individual donations have decreased as well. So, what are these vital contributors to our society’s welfare to do?

Prior to 2008, and for the last several decades preceding our economic crisis, while never easy, fundraising and community support was sufficient to fund the needs of most shelters. Average tried and true efforts were effective enough to raise those funds and while some more than others were creative in their fundraising methods not a lot of “out of the box” thinking was needed. Those days are gone and we can’t expect them to return anytime soon, if ever. As Thomas L. Friedman puts it, “average is over”.

To thrive in these new environment shelter operators must start to think differently.

While fulfilling a compelling community need the truth is that shelters are businesses too. Shelters need to start to think like businesses and they need to begin to search for ways to earn profit from their activities. That’s right, profit.

The Red Wiggler Foundation in Montgomery County, Maryland, operates an organic farm that provides gainful employment for adults with developmental disabilities. According to its IRS 990 form, Red Wiggler’s contribution and grant income dropped by more than half in 2010. But that same year, its program service revenue—money it raised at least in part by selling the produce from the farm—rose 41 percent.”

Most shelters have a Director of Development. It’s time now for a Director of Marketing who will develop salable products and market the organization’s products to buyers who find value in the organization’s results driven and metrically supported output. This requires that non-profits refocus from emphasizing their activities (what they do every day) and focus on the benefits produced by those activities. The Chief Marketing Officer’s primary responsibility is to find customers who value, in monetary terms, the results the organization produces.

In order to prosper shelter operators will have to start to think “out of the box”. I’m not talking “thrift shops” here. This is about creating business alliances with companies who value what you do and see a potential for a positive contribution to their bottom line.

The first step is to do a thorough analysis of what outcomes the non-profit actually produces (or is capable of producing) and then developing metrics that prove those outcomes. The next step is to find “customers” who value the outcome and then sell them your product. While this may seem daunting to some, it’s not. There are many businesses in our communities who suffer right along with victims. While their suffering may not be physical or sexual domestic violence has an emotional impact on companies and certainly an economic one.

Corporate donors are inundated with appeals from non-profits that are based on the “feel good” aspect of what they do. In this new environment shelters must align their appeals, based on the measurable outcomes that they produce, with corporate financial goals. This means that instead of appealing to these potential donors based on the emotive aspect of what the shelters does it must align measurable impact and “sell” this impact to corporations based on that company’s financial goals.

We all know that at least twenty-five percent of all women in America will at sometime in their lives be victims of domestic violence. That means that twenty-five percent of all of the women working in corporate America will be victims and that most of the cost of this violence is borne by the companies that they work for. These costs manifest in lost productivity and increased health-care costs. By appealing to the corporate bottom line and “selling” the corporation a program that will increase the productivity of these women and reduce overall corporate health-care costs shelters can develop new streams of income.

Corporations worldwide have and are strengthening their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to satisfy their own needs because when they are properly implemented CSR initiatives contribute to shareholder value, the public image of the corporation and the overall well-being of the corporation and its employees. Those needs are based on the self-interest of the corporation (and sometimes its executives) because of the impact on the corporations’ bottom line.

The good news is that many corporations have begun to value social change and much of the social change delivered by shelters can directly impacts a company’s bottom line.

Sometime ago I was saddened to learn of a non-profit in Southwest Florida (Budget cuts affecting non-profit food distributions) that had recently lost $750,000 in state funding; funding that had been used to transport 100,000 meals a year for people who need them.

I was even more saddened to learn that this non-profit’s reaction to the loss of this funding was to simply capitulate in belief that there was no alternative to their dilemma. According to Kristina Rodriguez the nutrition direction at the Senior Friendship Center “there’s nobody stepping behind them to replace it, so people will just go without the food”.

I wrote to them suggesting an alternative. That idea is that they go into the trucking business. By doing so they will employ people, guarantee the food supplies that they need and at least partially ensure the future of their organization and found an interesting idea for them (Charity Trucks).

The non-profit sector in general is a unique and wonderful component of American society and has been for at least a century. Encouraged by our tax structure there are now over 1.5 million non-profit organizations in the United States. Unfortunately most are experiencing cut backs in federal, state and local funding. Those that are able to maintain their donor base are finding that their average donation is dwindling while the demand for their services, due to our economic situation is increasing.

Welcome to the new normal. The days of appealing to donors based on “the good work we do” is over. Nothing ever goes back to the way it was and I believe that the non-profit administrator who thinks that they can sustain their programs on the largesse of donors is fooling themselves. In order to survive and meet the needs of the community in the future non-profits must become entrepreneurial.

This will not be easy. It will take a fundamental shift in thinking. I hear often that “we can’t earn a profit without jeopardizing our non-profit status”. Yes you can, and you must. If you don’t the survival of your organization will become tenuous at best.

One way to accomplish your funding needs is to create a hybrid non-profit/for-profit as many “social entrepreneurs” are doing. A hybrid is an innovative approach that allows organizations to utilize the benefits of both; it’s time for non-profits to utilize wholly owned profit-making subsidiaries.

This will be a difficult concept for some shelter organizations that have always relied on donations. But the time is here and, after all, the survival of your programs may be at stake.

Whether or not a hybrid structure works for you depends on your unique circumstances. A hybrid is only one mechanism and not the right vehicle in all situations. The structure is not the point though, becoming entrepreneurial is. This will require a lot of introspection and creative thought and will require non-profits to think in new ways. Change is always difficult but in today’s “new normal” change is a requirement not an option.

Abuse Can Lead To Health Issues That Last A Lifetime

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:19:16 +0100

On January 23rd I posted a blog that talks about the health issues victims of abuse suffer that can last a lifetime (http://www.thebusinessofme.com/the-business-of-me-blog.php).The post cites recent research from both the CDC and Ohio State University that affirm the long term health problems victims suffer.

A recent article that appeared in Tampa Bay Online (http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/jan/29/psychological-trauma-can-scar-health-for-years-ar-352614/ ) talks about Carolyn Hennecy who not only suffered sexual abuse as a child but also domestic violence. Ms. Hennecy suffers from extreme cardiac disease which she had attributed to genetics but she is now convinced the years of abuse she suffered played a part.

According to the article “The idea that adverse childhood experiences affect an adult's physical health is not new; researchers have looked at the connection for more than a decade. But new analysis of heart attack and stroke data implies that childhood trauma could increase a woman’s risks of cardiovascular disease between 45 percent and 62 percent.”

As I said on January 23rd “The “scars” of domestic violence do not end when a victim leaves the abuser. Many victims suffer life-time health issues – victims suffer and employers suffer from higher medical costs.” – and if we are to mitigate the effects of domestic violence on victims, communities and employers, programs that work with victims to reduce revictimization (the number of times a victim returns to their abuser) need to be implemented (it should be noted that a victim will leave and return to the abuser 7 or 8 times before they leave for good).

The Business of Me is such a program!

Domestic Violence Is A Public Health Issue

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:24:29 +0100

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their report titled “The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey” (http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf) stated “Sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are major public health problems in the United States.” For many of us who work with victims of domestic violence that statement comes as no surprise. We know that it’s not just physical or mental/emotional disorders the victims suffer from but many suffer other long term medical conditions as a result of being abused.

In her research study Dr. Amy Bonomi of Ohio State University details the medical diagnoses prevalent in victims of domestic violence (http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/psychiatry/documents/healthcare.pdf) – and many will be shocked by what the study found.

No one will be surprised that the prevalence of mental/emotional disorders diagnoses is higher in victims of abuse versus those who have never experienced abuse. For example, conditions like anxiety and depression are approximately 3 times higher.

Based on Dr. Bonomi’s study the following conditions, ones that one would not normally associate with domestic violence, are more prevalent in victims of abuse – arthritis is 71% higher in victims than non-victims, headaches are 57% higher, gastro esophageal reflux disorder (GERD) is 76%higher, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are 215% higher. Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are 79% higher and chest pains are 53% higher.

The “scars” of domestic violence do not end when a victim leaves the abuser. Many victims suffer life-time health issues – victims suffer and employers suffer from higher medical costs.

If we are to mitigate the effects of domestic violence on victims, communities and employers, programs that work with victims to reduce revictimization (the number of times a victim returns to their abuser) need to be implemented. It should be noted that a victim will leave and return to the abuser 7 or 8 times before they leave for good.

The Business of Me is a program that reduces revictimization.

Is Domestic Violence Being Swept Under The Rug?

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:22:55 +0100

I just read one of the best articles I've read in a long time regarding domestic violence. It's published by the Toledo Blade (http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/01/15/Domestic-violence-everyones-problem.html) and titled “Domestic Violence – Everyone’s Problem”. The article cites the CDC’s recent report about the prevalence of domestic violence in the U.S.

I have also talked about these stark statistics (http://www.thebusinessofme.com/the-business-of-me-blog/the-numbers-are-out-and-it’s-not-good). According to the CDC report more than one third or42.4 million women have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner sometime in their life –that means any women can be a victim regardless of race, age or socioeconomic background.

According to the article “The epidemic poses numerous challenges, but a change in the way the issue is viewed and addressed seems to be a way to start.” The article challenges bystanders, especially men to speak out when they see other men mistreating women.

Domestic violence is still viewed as a private matter not a community concern but domestic violence is a serious community problem.

The Toledo Blade article points to the Lucas County Family Council Data & Evaluation Network Report on Domestic Violence which states:"The effects of domestic violence are obviously enormous, but are impossible to measure. Our entire community suffers. The effects can be seen at bus stations, fast-food restaurants, and schools. You can see it on television and in jails. You can see it in people’s faces on the street -- hopelessness, pessimism, hard-headedness, and meanness. A person's spirit is priceless, and a broken spirit costs more than can be measured in dollars."

The U.S. has so many problems, high unemployment, housing foreclosures and the growing divide between rich and poor that my fear is that the problem of domestic violence is getting “swept under the rug”. If we are to make strides in combating domestic violence in these uncertain times we need to make it a community effort. As the article points out it’s not a private issue - the communities suffer too.

Help me in the fight against domestic violence by helping survivors develop self-sufficient lives, click the link and donate what you can– you will not only help a woman but also make your community a safer place to live http://www.indiegogo.com/Give-the-Gift-of-Independence-to-100-Women-Survivors-of-Domestic-Violence. Thank you.

PTSD and Domestic Violence

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:50:14 +0100

According to the Mayo Clinic, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) “is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Many people who go through traumatic events have difficulty adjusting and coping for a while. But with time and taking care of yourself, such traumatic reactions usually get better. In some cases, though, the symptoms can get worse or last for months or even years. Sometimes they may completely shakeup your life. In a case such as this, you may have post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Many soldiers are diagnosed with this disorder –so too are survivors of domestic violence. According to the latest CDC report (http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf) 22.3% of women who have endured domestic violence report having PTSD symptoms. That translates to 26,546,000 women who have symptoms such as nightmares, tried not to think about or avoided being reminded of the trauma, felt constantly on guard, watchful, or easily startled and felt numb or detached.

I know I was one of those women. It is for this reason that The Business of Me employs guided meditation, which has proven to help alleviate PTSD based on the work of Belleruth Naparstek (http://belleruthnaparstek.com/).

The Business of Me uses proven methodologies to help survivors create self-sufficient lives.

January Is National Stalking Awareness Month

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:44:21 +0100

January is National Stalking Awareness Month. Here are some statistics from http://stalkingawarenessmonth.org/ that will give you an idea how enormous the problem is.

According to the statistics (http://stalkingawarenessmonth.org/sites/default/files/Stalking%20Fact%20Sheet%202011_ENG%20press.pdf) 3.4million people over the age of 18 are stalked each year, 3 of 4 victims are stalked by someone they know, 30% of stalking victims are stalked by a current or former intimate partner – there are many more startling statistics.

Stalking is such a huge problem that I will talk more about it in coming posts.

I know how frightening stalking can be - my ex-husband stalked me!