Hello, Happy Thursday! Thank you for such an enthusiastic response to the idea of honoring and uplifting advocates and other staff at our agencies! Because of my own current capacity and after speaking with Brigid, I would like to put it to a vote whether we move forward on a formalized or informal process for honoring and uplifting advocate this year. Majority vote will decide which process is desired. Link to vote anonymous is here- https://forms.gle/6svLHzhrdUDPdBb18. Please respond by Thursday March 30th at 2pm; link will be valid until that time. Process breakdown listed here: Formal Process- SLEDSVN members would vote on whether or not to establish a committee focused on appreciation and recognition of member organization staff, interns, and volunteers. Committee membership would be open to any SLEDSVN members. Committee members would complete the following tasks: creating Google form for nomination forms, establish criteria for nominations, choose individuals to recognize either due to multiple nominations for the same person or being the only nomination in a particular category, create certificates of recognition branded with SLEDSVN logo and name, and present appreciation and recognition to individuals during Domestic Violence Awareness Month SLEDSVN meeting. Informal Process- Emily Stoinski and other interested individuals who meet briefly to create process and Google form that would be sent out to all SLEDSVN members to nominate individuals for recognition and appreciation. Emily Stoinski and other interested individuals would meet briefly after nomination deadline to choose individuals either due to multiple nominations for the same person or being the only nomination in a particular category, create generalized certificates of recognition, and present appreciation and recognition to individuals during Domestic Violence Awareness Month SLEDSVN meeting. If this is well received, Emily Stoinski would move to exploring making this a formalized committee with SLEDSVN or a part of another SLEDSVN’s committee work. Note: Due to capacity, if formal process is chosen through majority vote, Emily Stoinski will table this proposal for next year due to not having capacity to build and lead another formal committee, unless another member would like to take the lead with this committee proposal and work. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions on this! My email is emily@safeconnections.org, and my phone number is 314.646.7500 ext.146.

Hello! This past weekend, I was watching the SAG awards (#self-care), and it made me start thinking about how we honor and recognize our advocates and agency staff. I know many organizations honor their staff internally and also some advocates (often higher leadership) may receive recognition at national levels by nomination, but I would like to propose that we as a community honor some of our advocates and their work in our community. I am more than happy to spearhead this effort. My thought would be that we would have an online Google form that people could submit their peers/staff for recognition. Folks would be chosen either through having more than one nomination or if they are the only nomination for that category. My thought that we would honor two-three advocates, one leadership role, and one non-direct service staff member. For this first year, the recognition would be a certificate and public acknowledgement in a meeting. My intention is to bring this to the full SLEDSVN meeting, but I want to float it here first to see if there is any support or disregard for this idea.

Hello, I was recently contacted by Cale Bouchey from Washington University who is a part of a team of folks who provide tax assistance to folks who are low income. He offered support to provide a clinic that could cover various information on tax (child tax credits, etc.) for survivors. We do not have capacity to offer this through Safe Connections at this time, but he gave me permission to pass this along to all of you in case there is interest in your agency hosting this free session for your clients. His email is cale.bouchey@wustl.edu. The group is this- LITC - WashULaw (wustl.edu) Take care!

My dear fellow colleagues, Please continue to take care of yourselves reading this information if you choose to and feel free to reach out to myself, peers, or the 988 crisis helpline if you would like any support after. I do not want to be writing this email. It feels surreal and not reality. I am sure all, if not most, folks are aware of the passing of Janée Johnson on December 30th, 2022. Janée Johnson was a force in our community. She allowed survivors to be messy, she advocated for justice and equity, and she cared for all of us in this community with support and love. I struggle with how to adequately express in writing what she has meant to our community, to survivors, to all of us. When loss and trauma occurs, as we all know, there is no perfect word, perfect action, return to normalcy, etc. Instead, we try to do what we can to move forward (however that looks in whatever timeframe that appears.) I believe in the power of community and gathering in the messy middle and know that there may be folks that need that space in our community. This Sunday, January 8th, my partner and I will have our home open from 11:00am-3:00pm for anyone that needs a space to exhale and find community in this loss. We are located in Ballwin near 141 and Manchester Road. We will have tea, hot chocolate, and some light snacks for anyone. There is no obligation, but know that we will be around for anyone that needs community. If you or your peers are interested or even are still contemplating, let me know and I am more than happy to send our address. I can be reached at emily@safeconnections.org. I know not everyone has access to this listserv, so if there is anyone that needs this information but is not on the email, please feel free to forward to them. If there is anyway that I can be of support to anyone in our community before this, please do not hesitate to reach out. May her memory always be a blessing and a call for us to continue to support survivors, advocate for justice, and create safety and community. Best, Emily Stoinski