Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my Mom’s birthday, and it gives me a lot of joy to share how much I love and appreciate her.  Naturally, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.  Happy Birthday, Mom!

For most of my life now, we have lived hundreds of miles apart from one another, yet we remain very close. It’s nothing for me to contact her through GoogleTalk or call her on the phone.  She is a great Nana to our daughter Keisha, and Jennie, Keisha, and I really loved when she lived with us some years ago.

Domestic Violence Awareness

My mom’s experience with domestic violence and abuse is a strong motivating factor in my passion in promoting domestic violence awareness.  She has publicly shared her story on her own blog, and, in honor of her special day today, I would love if you did me a favor and read her story. She wrote it in two parts.

It’s graphic. It’s not for the faint of heart.

She would say it’s only by the grace of God that she is alive.  But, and I think she’d agree with me, by sharing her story, it might help someone else in a similar situation.

Once again, my Mom is a hero to me. She is a survivor. My respect and love for her grows every day. I am proud to be her son. Read this and you’ll understand why.

• Why doesn’t she just leave? Part 1
• Why doesn’t she just leave? Part 2

Related posts you might be interested in

• Domestic Violence Awareness: Social Media Release
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 1
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 2
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 3
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 4

Image by danieljohnsonjr via Flickr

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Daniel Johnson, Jr. wants you to know about the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Highlights/Key Facts:

To help raise awareness for domestic violence and abuse and how to get help, Daniel Johnson, Jr. has released an audio promo spot to be shared on the internet.  The promo encourages listeners everywhere to program the National Domestic Violence Hotline number into their phones and share it with others.

• Official Website: http://www.ndvh.org
• 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233)
• 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

Tags/Keywords: domestic violence, domestic abuse, awareness, national domestic violence hotline, ndvh

Links/URLs:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline http://www.ndvh.org
• Daniel Johnson, Jr. http://danieljohnsonjr.com/main/about/
• Journey Inside My Mind http://www.journeyinsidemymind.com
• Delicious: http://delicious.com/tag/ndvh
• 2007 One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/onevoicewalk

Quotes:

• “Many of us know someone who is or has been a victim of domestic violence or abuse.  We often don’t realize it because victims, out of fear, do all they can to outwardly show those around them that life is normal.”
• “In 2007 I recorded several stories from victims who survived domestic violence and abuse and released them as a series on my internet radio show, Journey Inside My Mind.  Domestic violence has been very real and close to my family. “
• “I am outraged, indignant, and concerned by what goes on and was looking for something I could do about domestic violence. Even though I have no affiliation with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, I strongly believe in what they are doing.  I recorded the promo spot and have released it on the internet to share with everyone.”
• “The message is simple: Domestic violence and abuse is real. It happens every 15 seconds in the United States. We often don’t know what to do.  The National Domestic Violence Hotline has been set up to provide help.  Program the number in your cell phone and share it with others.  You may not need it now, but you may need it in the future.”
• From the National Domestic Violence Hotline website:
  “Until the violence stops, the hotline will continue to answer… One Call at a Time.  Help is available to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Hotline advocates are available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Assistance is available in English and Spanish with access to more than 170 languages through interpreter services.”

Contact Information: Daniel Johnson, Jr., 513-373-4442, daniel AT journeyinsidemymind DOT com

RSS Feeds:

• Daniel Johnson, Jr.: http://feeds.feedburner.com/danieljohnsonjr
• Journey Inside My Mind Podcast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/jimmpodcast
• Journey Inside My Mind Blog: http://feeds.feedburner.com/journeyinsidemymind
• 2007 One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk Series: http://feeds.feedburner.com/onevoicewalk

Trackback URL: http://journeyinsidemymind.com/2008/10/20/social-media-release-domestic-violence-awareness

Embedded Audio: (mp3, 2:36)

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I saw this video from YouTube and had to share it with you. It comes from 20/20, and I am very grateful that ABC has let it be up there.

It’s over 20 minutes long, and it contains graphic content. Domestic violence is real. It’s disturbing, and it’s outraging.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJfIZZqOnMM]

If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation, there is help.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7933)

Please head over to the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast throughout October, because I’m posting content from the recent One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk. Or, if you have iTunes, add the show with a single click. That way you’ll get new content as it gets released.

Help stop domestic violence!

Related tags: onevoicewalk, onevoicewalk2007, domestic+violence+awareness, 2020, video, journey+inside+my+mind, journeyinsidemymind

One Voice Walk 2007
Originally uploaded by danieljohnsonjr

Have you’ve been wondering where I’ve been this past month? I’ve been doing some online publicity as a New Media Consultant for the 4th Annual One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, which was held in Cincinnati, Ohio this morning. I took lots of pictures and recorded lots of audio from the event.

Hearing personal stories really moved me. I honestly felt a flood of emotions ranging from sadness, outrage, hurt, compassion, and more. It was really a lot to take in. And rightfully so. Domestic violence is an anathema to our society and must be stopped.

I really enjoyed interviewing people from the various local organizations and finding out what they are doing to help raise awareness for and to prevent domestic violence.

During the walk, I talked with other participants. In nearly all the interviews, I asked folks why they came. Really great discussions.

Do a Google search (aka ‘google’) “onevoicewalk“, and you’ll find this content as it all becomes available. For now, I encourage you to check out these specific websites:

http://onevoicewalk.org – the official website, with information about how to donate
http://flickr.com/groups/onevoicewalk – pictures taken during the event, with more to come
http://twitter.com/onevoicewalk – microblog of updates from before, during, and after the event
http://myspace.com/onevoicewalk – MySpace page
http://jimmpodcast.com – Journey Inside My Mind Podcast, where audio content from the walk will be posted

Speaking of the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast, head over there for the recent episode, Music for the One Voice Walk.

Related tags: onevoicewalk, onevoicewalk2007, domestic+violence+awareness, cincinnati, one+voice+walk, sawyer+point, jimmpodcast, jimm, journeyinsidemymind, journey+inside+my+mind, daniel+johnson+jr