Participants:
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR200014S
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00:01 What could be worse than being quarantined
00:03 during the COVID-19 pandemic? 00:05 How about being quarantined with an abuser? 00:08 Stay tuned to find out what to do 00:10 if that's your reality 00:12 or the experience of a loved one. 00:14 My name is Yvonne Shelton, 00:16 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:41 Hello, and welcome to Urban Report. 00:43 My guest today is Lizzie Harrison, 00:46 Founder and Director of Harrison's Referral Service, 00:49 and a champion for victims of domestic violence. 00:52 Welcome to Urban Report. 00:55 I'm hugging you. It's a COVID hug. 00:56 Oh, thank you. So blessing to be home. 00:59 Oh, yeah, it's so great to have you here. 01:02 You know, you're not a stranger to 3ABN or to Dare to Dream, 01:05 we've had you on before 01:07 because what you bring is so significant. 01:10 And there's so many people dealing with the subject 01:14 that we're going to talk about today. 01:15 Yes, yes. 01:16 And that's domestic violence. Yes. 01:18 Before we get into that, Lizzie, 01:20 and for those who may just have tuned in 01:23 for the first time, and they might not know 01:25 who you are, or what your experience is? 01:27 Just share a little bit of your journey with us 01:29 if you would, so that people will get to know you? 01:32 Well, my name is Lizzie Harrison, 01:35 Founder of Emmanuel Food Pantry 01:37 and Harrison's Referral Services in St. Louis. 01:41 I was a victim of domestic violence 01:43 about 15 years ago. 01:45 And I decided to turn my pain 01:47 into power by helping others 01:49 through domestic violence, 01:51 those who are displaced due to domestic violence, 01:54 women and their children. 01:56 That's beautiful. 01:57 And what do you say, you know, 02:00 there are people who aren't familiar 02:02 with the whole cycle of domestic violence and abuse. 02:07 What do you say to people who say to you, 02:10 why don't they just leave? 02:11 Why don't they just... 02:13 Why don't they just leave and get away from there? 02:16 What do you say to people who say that? 02:17 Well, actually, that's the number one question 02:20 that people always ask. 02:22 And I remember when someone asked me, 02:24 you know, "Why don't you just leave?" 02:26 You know, it's not that easy especially when your abuser 02:31 is the sole breadwinner of the home. 02:33 When, you know, 02:35 you're totally dependent upon your abuser, 02:40 or your spouse, 02:41 or whoever your significant other, 02:43 and you have children. 02:45 You know, it's kind of hard to see yourself 02:48 raising the children on your own, 02:49 how you're going to, you know, 02:51 take care of everything financially, 02:52 that's the first thing that goes through your mind. 02:54 And that usually makes you stay awhile. 02:56 Yeah. 02:58 And I think also and tell me 02:59 if I'm right or wrong about this. 03:01 The abuse doesn't necessarily happen every day. 03:05 So you keep thinking, well, 03:07 maybe it won't happen again, or maybe 03:10 they'll just be some long period 03:12 before it happens again, 03:14 or maybe since he said he was so sorry, 03:17 he won't do it again. 03:18 And so, you give it one more chance. 03:20 And then you give it one more chance, 03:22 and then you give it one more chance. 03:24 And before you know it, 03:25 you've been in there for way longer 03:27 than you probably should have. 03:29 Years, sometimes years. 03:30 And, you know, sad to say that 03:32 the abuse does happen every day. 03:34 It might not be physical, 03:36 but the emotional, psychological, 03:39 spiritual, economic abuse, you know, 03:44 but it does happen every day. 03:45 The abuser trains you on a cycle. 03:48 It's almost like you're on a wheel, 03:50 and you get immune to it. 03:52 And one thing I found out even in my situation is that 03:56 when you become codependent, 03:59 an independent person can become codependent. 04:02 Explain that, unpack that a little bit? 04:04 What that mean is that, you know, 04:05 if you're used to being an independent person, 04:08 outgoing, you have a lot going for yourself, you know, 04:11 education, even if you're not, you know, educated, 04:14 forced to college and things in that area, 04:15 but just have a lot going for yourself, 04:17 and used to being out with other people 04:20 and making your own, you know, life happen. 04:22 You know what I mean? 04:24 So, and then you get involved with an abuser. 04:28 The next thing, you know, you're not yourself anymore. 04:32 You know, I call domestic violence 04:34 another form of identity theft. 04:36 The abuser takes your identity away from you, 04:38 so you can be codependent on them. 04:41 You know, they'll tell you, 04:42 "Oh, you don't have to work anymore. 04:43 I'll pay all the bills. I'll take care of everything." 04:45 But that is another means of control, economic abuse. 04:48 So that way, if you ever tried to leave the abuser, 04:50 you will second guess it 04:52 because you're not financially stable. 04:55 That's very interesting. 04:56 It's another form of identity theft. 04:59 So you kind of get absorbed into their world versus 05:04 you having your own life like you did before. 05:08 And then having theirs, now you get absorbed 05:10 into their agenda and what they want for you 05:14 versus you just being able to do 05:16 what you want as an independent person. 05:18 Yes. 05:19 And, you know, what I've also learned too, 05:23 is that there's another form of abuse 05:25 called narcissistic personality disorder, 05:28 which is NPD, which is actually has a lot to do 05:31 with domestic violence. 05:32 It's more of a spiritual, demonic type abuse. 05:38 It really makes you feel that you really need this person, 05:41 this person really loves you. 05:43 And you would do anything for them 05:45 not knowing that the whole time, you know, 05:47 that they're using you, they're controlling you, 05:51 they will separate you from your family, 05:53 they don't want you to be independent, 05:55 because if you get strong 05:56 and you're around other strong people, 05:58 then you will come to realize the situation 06:00 that you're in, and then you'll be drawn away 06:03 from the abuser. 06:04 So that's why they like to isolate you, 06:06 they don't want you working, family, friends, no one. 06:08 They want you to feel like they are your world. 06:11 Wow! 06:13 So that's that, again that identity theft. 06:15 Yes. That's very interesting. 06:18 So if, let's say, I used to have a friend 06:21 who was in an abusive relationship, 06:23 and I saw what was going on, 06:25 and I even took a class to see if I could help her to leave. 06:31 What would you say are some of the signs? 06:33 If you have a friend 06:35 and you kind of think maybe 06:36 they're in an abusive relationship, 06:38 but you're not sure. 06:40 What are some of the signs 06:41 that they're in an abusive relationship? 06:44 Well, first, if it's physical, 06:47 you'll notice if they wear a makeup and they're not, 06:49 you know, they don't usually wear a makeup, sunglasses. 06:53 A lot of times, if you have a good relationship 06:55 with a friend, 06:56 and they can't give you eye contact, 06:59 they always make an excuses, canceling plans. 07:01 You know, you have your girlfriend days out, 07:03 you go do things together, 07:05 they just don't sound like themselves 07:07 and feel like themselves, 07:09 you can kind of have that connection 07:11 with them to know that 07:13 something's really, really wrong. 07:14 Now, some of them are really good at hiding it. 07:16 Really good at hiding it. 07:18 And I can say before, 07:19 I was really good at hiding it too, 07:21 as well, because of the shame 07:22 and embarrassment for people to know that. 07:26 You know, if you've married someone 07:27 that's an abuser, 07:28 if they don't physically abuse you, 07:30 they mentally, emotionally, and verbally abuse you. 07:34 And so sometimes, you know, 07:36 we don't want to expose the abuser, 07:39 because it's a reflection of us. 07:41 That's good. That's good. 07:42 I think that people need to know that 07:44 there are signs and 07:46 if you see someone that's in that, 07:49 somebody close to you 07:50 that's in that kind of relationship. 07:52 You need to say something, encourage them. 07:55 What should the onlooker do? 07:58 How can you help somebody 07:59 who's in an abusive relationship? 08:01 Well, with Harrison's Referral Services 08:03 and my coaching and support groups, 08:06 I encourage people to be very careful, 08:09 you know, with asking questions 08:11 and helping because you have to understand 08:14 that they're in abusive relationship 08:16 and they can lose their life. 08:18 And you can lose your life too, as well. 08:21 So the best thing to do to approach them, 08:23 you know, to say, 08:24 "Hey, is there anything going on, 08:25 you know, that, you know, I love you, I'm here for you. 08:27 If you feel like 08:29 you want to talk about anything. 08:30 I just feel that 08:31 something's not going on with you, 08:33 went well with you. 08:34 And if you like to talk, I'm here for you." 08:36 That's the best thing to go with first. 08:38 Usually, they just want someone to listen to them. 08:41 They don't want to hear, I told you so. 08:43 Right. 08:44 Because they already know that 08:45 they're in a bad relationship or bad situation. 08:48 And you just want someone to be there to listen. 08:51 And you can't force them to leave. 08:54 It's going to have to be something 08:56 that they actually really want to do. 08:58 And sometimes, you know, they can leave, you know, 09:00 when they shouldn't 09:02 and sometimes a lot of victims are not too, 09:05 you know, I would say lucky with leaving. 09:07 Should you ever call the police about it? 09:09 Well, I would say if you hear, 09:11 you know, noises or hear things that you know 09:13 that's not right to call the police. 09:15 Like if he is a neighbor. 09:16 Is a neighbor, you never know what's going on. 09:19 I wouldn't feel right, you know, 09:20 knowing I hear something next door 09:22 or right next to me and not call the police. 09:24 But just be very, very careful. 09:27 You don't go out and knock on the door 09:29 and then say, "Hey, you know, what are you doing? 09:31 I'm gonna call the police," because the person 09:33 can have a gun or whatever, 09:34 and they can kill the victim and also kill you as well, 09:38 especially when you're dealing with people 09:40 with multiple personalities. 09:43 NPD covert and overt narcissist, 09:47 you know, you have to be very careful 09:49 because you're dealing 09:50 with the psyche of another individual. 09:53 So you don't want to put your life at stake, 09:55 so it's just best to just call the police. 09:57 Right. That's good. 09:58 That's good. 09:59 We are living in this 10:01 whole COVID-19 pandemic time. 10:06 How has that impacted victims of domestic abuse? 10:11 How is that? 10:12 How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the victims? 10:17 Quarantined in silence with an abuser 10:20 is no one was expecting, you know, this pandemic. 10:25 And I just felt so sorry for the victims 10:29 because I know that now since, 10:31 you know, a lot of places are shut down. 10:36 Things are closing up early. 10:38 With the pandemic, 10:39 you really can't get out and do what you usually do. 10:41 People are losing their jobs, finances. 10:45 A lot of abusers now are drinking alcohol 10:48 more heavily, they're doing drugs, 10:50 they don't have an outlet. 10:52 And so what happens? 10:54 They use the victims as their punching bag. 10:58 They abuse the children, they abuse. 11:00 And I want to be clear that 11:01 an abuser can not only be a male, 11:04 but can also be a female. 11:05 So there is no certain status here, 11:08 it could be either or. 11:09 But in this instance, the most majority of the cases 11:12 that I've had, and the majority of cases 11:13 I deal with are males that are abusers. 11:18 And so a lot of them are quarantined 11:19 with their abusers and they don't have a voice, 11:22 they don't know what to do, they don't have an outlet. 11:25 And with the COVID-19 going on, a lot of the shelters 11:29 with all the protocols and different things 11:31 that are going on with the pandemic, 11:33 they're very cautious about letting people 11:34 into the shelters now. 11:36 The victims don't really have more outlets, 11:39 don't have enough outlets to go to now. 11:41 And so, they're stuck where they are. 11:43 And they feel that, well, I can't get out 11:45 and get a job if there's no jobs. 11:47 If my spouse is not working 11:49 or my significant other is not working, 11:52 how can I be able to... 11:53 How can I go out to be able to regain my independence, 11:57 you know, into society 11:59 and be a single mother to raise my children? 12:01 And so they stay, 12:03 even though it might cost them their lives. 12:06 You know, I hadn't thought about that, 12:08 you know, when you think about 12:10 the inconveniences of the pandemic 12:12 and you're stuck in wherever you are, 12:15 and you shouldn't go here and there, whatever. 12:17 I had not thought about the impact on the victims 12:23 of domestic violence. 12:24 Think about it, you are trapped in that 12:27 closed environment with them. 12:29 And if they're abusing alcohol or any kind of substance, 12:33 that exacerbates the situation so that they're worse. 12:37 They are acting out worse, 12:40 because now they're under the influence 12:42 of some substance. 12:44 And then so, and you're stuck there. 12:47 You cannot, you know, if you're not working, 12:49 if they've laid you off, or whatever, 12:51 if your jobs laid you off, you are stuck there. 12:53 Yeah. 12:54 So have you been getting, 12:56 at Harrison's Referral Services, 12:58 have you been getting a lot of cases of women or men 13:03 who have been victimized by this pandemic? 13:07 Oh, yes, very much so. 13:08 Actually, before I even came, I had a couple of phone calls. 13:12 Before I got here, 13:13 I have a lot of calls throughout today. 13:16 The majority are women in church, 13:19 and the Christian churches is a lot that is going on. 13:24 I think, now during the pandemic, 13:27 a lot of leaders in the churches 13:31 of all denominations are being exposed now 13:36 to being an abuser. 13:39 And also too, 13:40 you have to understand that, you know, 13:41 there's nothing else to do at home besides, you know, 13:44 you can go right and you can do so much at home, 13:46 you can only do so much. 13:47 Wi-Fi, a lot of the abusers 13:49 are abusing pornography. 13:54 Pornography is on the rise. Incest is on the rise. 14:00 A lot of things are taking place in the home 14:02 that we are not even aware of. 14:04 Our minds cannot even fathom of the things 14:06 that a lot of the victims are going through. 14:09 I've had a phone call yesterday 14:12 where a sister called and she was just crying out 14:14 and she's just, she's broken. 14:16 She's just done 14:17 and she just can't take it anymore. 14:19 And, you know, 14:20 you really can't tell them what to do. 14:23 You can only give them ideas 14:25 and safety tips on how to move forward. 14:27 But they have to make that decision for themselves. 14:30 But I hope and pray that they make the right decision 14:33 because there's so many women and children, 14:35 including men have lost their lives. 14:37 There's so much violence going on. 14:39 Look at all the cases on the news about 14:41 so many more domestic violence cases, 14:44 and not to the point where it's just physical abuse 14:47 and the emotional, psychological, 14:49 they are actually killing the mothers there. 14:53 Some of them are being pregnant, 14:55 they're killing them in front of their children. 14:57 So I have had a lot of different cases, 15:00 a lot of things that I have been exposed to. 15:04 Sometimes I just play all of that back in my head. 15:06 And some days, I just have to go and regroup. 15:09 Take me a few days to get my energy back 15:11 and my strength back because I know of all the cases 15:15 that are happening and what's going on. 15:16 And so, I just want to continue to be a voice 15:19 for the victims of domestic violence. 15:23 I want to be able to let people understand that 15:25 domestic violence is not a program. 15:28 Domestic violence awareness 15:29 is not something you do once a year 15:31 or you talk about every now and then. 15:33 People lives are at stake, children's lives are at stake. 15:36 And now since school is starting back now, 15:38 and there's homeschooling, guess what's happening? 15:41 The kids are at home, they're being more exposed 15:43 to the abuse than where they were 15:45 when they were going into the classrooms. 15:47 So true, because now they're, 15:49 you know, they're around it all day. 15:50 If the parents aren't employed somewhere, 15:53 now they're seeing it all day long. 15:56 So what strategies do you offer people 15:59 who are quarantined? 16:01 What do you tell them that they can do during this time? 16:06 Because, I mean, I don't even know. 16:09 It's like, it's a trap. It is. 16:11 They must feel so trapped. 16:13 So what do you tell them? 16:15 Well, I would say, you know, 16:16 if you know you are going through domestic violence 16:18 or you a victim of abuse of any kind, of any kind, 16:22 that you can try to reach out into any programs 16:26 or Google phone numbers 16:28 or resources or call the hotline. 16:30 Yeah, seek with the hotlines, 16:32 or you can call Harrison's Referral Services. 16:34 Excuse me, that is the first step. 16:37 And we need to put your website up on the screen too, 16:40 so that people can know 16:42 how to reach you because this is important, 16:46 programs like yours are important. 16:48 I didn't mean to interrupt you. Go ahead. 16:49 No, it's okay. 16:51 And now you think about what about the children. 16:52 So if the mother or the man, 16:55 whoever's going through the abuse, 16:57 and they don't have strength to hold themselves together, 17:00 then you have the children. 17:02 They're being abused too as well. 17:04 And so what about the children and then, you know, 17:06 there's is no income, they're short of food at home. 17:11 People unthreaded, their utilities being cut off 17:13 and shut off and things like that. 17:15 And it's just that I just feel like 17:18 they are in a war zone, they're in a war path. 17:22 And that they don't know how to reach out, 17:24 they don't know who to talk to, they don't know who to trust. 17:28 They can't go to family and friends, 17:30 because the abuse has isolated them 17:32 from their families and friends. 17:33 And if they do talk to the family and friends, 17:35 the first thing we usually get is, 17:37 I told you so. 17:39 And as a victim of domestic violence, 17:41 you don't want to hear I told you 17:43 so because all those things 17:44 are playing in your mind already, 17:47 the regret, the shame, the guilt of saying, 17:51 "How did I get myself into the situation? 17:53 How did I allow the red flags? 17:57 You know, how can I look over the red flags? 17:59 And now look at the situation that I'm in now." 18:00 Yes, yes. 18:02 And you brought some pictures with you, 18:03 want to put up in just a second... 18:04 Yes, we brought a couple of pictures. 18:06 That you can kind of walk us through, 18:08 you know, explain what they are. 18:09 Yes, I would love to. So, what's this? 18:11 Well, actually, some of our ladies got together 18:15 and we had some new refugee families 18:17 that had came in to America 18:19 from different parts of the country. 18:21 And so we may give bags for... 18:22 You mean from other countries? From other countries. 18:24 Yes, I have women of all different types 18:26 of nationalities are part of the ministry, 18:28 so we may give bags for them for the children, yes. 18:30 Nice. 18:32 Oh, this one here is we were having 18:34 a women's support group. 18:36 And we had Christmas in July. 18:39 And I like to give gifts to the ladies you know, 18:42 throughout the year we get out and do, 18:43 you know, workshops we do. 18:45 We go out and give prayer to people 18:47 and we go out 18:49 and do all type of community work. 18:50 So I always like to try to give them 18:52 some little gifts to join, yes. 18:55 Well, with the Emmanuel Food Pantry, 18:56 we have a food truck as well. 18:58 And so, we feed hundreds of families a week. 19:01 And so when the food truck come, 19:02 the ladies get out and we unload the trucks 19:04 and we feed all the families in the community. 19:07 Wow! That's wonderful. 19:10 That is our new location 19:12 that we have in North St. Louis. 19:15 We all got together and we rehab, 19:16 we were rehabbing the place. 19:18 We did all the work ourselves. Wow! 19:19 Yes. And we rehab the place. 19:22 It was beautiful. That's incredible. 19:23 Yes. 19:24 So with the food pantry, 19:26 where do you get the food 19:28 from that you're feeding the community? 19:30 Well, we get some of our food 19:31 from the St. Louis area food bank, 19:33 Operation Food Search, private donors, volunteers, 19:38 church members and friends, 19:39 and people in the community like to donate to it as well. 19:42 So what do you use? What do you give them? 19:44 Like what kinds of foods are you giving them? 19:46 Anything you can imagine. Wow. 19:48 Everything that you go to the grocery store and get, 19:50 you're going to find it on our food truck. 19:52 Oh, wow. 19:53 And that's not a maybe and not a if. 19:55 So you can just give them, there's no cost for it. 19:59 They just receive this free. 20:00 Everything is free and open to the public 20:03 due to the COVID-19. 20:04 Now we just have the drive up service 20:06 where they drive their cars up, 20:07 we open up the trunk of their cars 20:09 and we load them up. 20:11 Each family gets at least over $500 or $600 20:13 worth of food a week. 20:15 A week? 20:16 A week, maybe more, 20:18 maybe more than that per car load. 20:20 And the good thing about our services is that, 20:23 you know, you can come to the line 20:25 as many times as you like until everything is gone. 20:30 And so some families have to go home and unload, 20:32 and then they'll come back. 20:34 We also have food for the refugee community. 20:39 North St. Louis as well as South St. Louis. 20:41 You have a lot of refugees in that area? 20:43 Yes, in South St. Louis, from all different countries. 20:46 So sometimes I just take a food truck 20:48 just to their community, just for them. 20:51 And a lot of them don't have cars and transportation. 20:53 So I send the food trucks to their community. 20:55 Now what made you start that? 20:57 Well, I was a victim of domestic violence in 2001. 21:01 And I decided to turn my pain into power. 21:05 And when I was going through abuse, 21:06 I had to go to food pantries to feed my children. 21:10 I was working but it wasn't enough. 21:12 And I remember 21:14 when I walked into one food pantry, 21:15 the lady said, "Well, you know, 21:17 we usually, you know, give you a bag of food." 21:18 But she says, "I don't know 21:20 what it is, there's something about you." 21:21 And this is like 15-16 years ago. 21:24 She said, "I'm gonna let you walk in 21:25 and pick out whatever you want. 21:27 You pick out whatever you want to eat." 21:30 And when I walked in there, 21:31 and I saw the whole wall full of food 21:32 and tears was coming, rolling down my eyes 21:34 as I was packing the food, 21:36 and I didn't want to get too much, 21:37 even though I needed more. 21:38 She goes, you know, get whatever you want. 21:40 And when I looked at those walls, 21:42 I said a prayer in my mind, 21:43 I said, "God, if You get me on my feet," 21:47 and hoo, I want to get emotional 21:49 with, I said, "God, if You get me on my feet, 21:52 I want to be able to give back, 21:54 and I want to be able to do the same thing for others." 21:56 And so for the last 23 years, 22:00 I've been feeding hundreds of families, 22:03 hundreds of families. 22:04 And this past Friday, we, 22:06 Monday we fed about 200 families. 22:08 So with, all week, 22:10 I can say almost 500 families a week. 22:13 Wow! 22:14 God has expanded my ministry. 22:16 Yes. Look at God. 22:18 Yes, so beautiful. 22:20 Look at God and look at how gracious He's been to you. 22:24 He got you out of that that situation 22:26 and gave you a ministry that lets you help others 22:30 who were in your situation. 22:32 And that's what, you know, 22:33 that's why we are to comfort others 22:36 with the comfort 22:37 with which we've been comforted. 22:39 I love that verse, 22:40 because that's what you're doing. 22:43 You've been comforted in a certain way. 22:45 And now you're using that to comfort others. 22:49 And that is beautiful. 22:50 Once you've been through abuse you know how it is to hurt, 22:53 you know, the pain and you don't reflect that pain 22:57 on to anyone else. 22:58 You don't abuse others because you know how it feels. 23:02 And so, it... 23:03 That's if you are well person. Yes. 23:05 And it helps, you know, with empathy, 23:07 you have empathy, 23:09 you have more compassion, you have more love. 23:12 And I will say this, I have had a lot of struggles, 23:16 you know, with this ministry. 23:17 And what I mean by that is the enemy 23:18 has not been happy at all with what I've been doing. 23:21 And so, the enemy has been trying to attack me 23:24 on a personal level, you know, 23:26 with, you know, smear campaigns 23:30 and all different type of horrible things 23:32 to try to make me out to be something that 23:34 I'm not because of who I serve. 23:38 And honestly I'm excited about, it keeps me motivated. 23:42 Yeah. 23:44 If I keep it coming, it motivates me, 23:46 keep me on my toes, keep me on my knees in prayer, 23:50 reminds me that I'm not in control of anything. 23:53 It reminds me that how much more 23:55 I need Jesus every day, 23:57 and it just keeps me in power. 23:59 So anywhere that 24:00 I can be a voice to those who are hurting, 24:03 and to continue to keep my strength up 24:05 and continue to be the woman that God has called me to be, 24:08 the mother He has called me to be, 24:10 the warrior He has called me to be. 24:12 I was built not to break. Come on. 24:16 I love that, I was built not to break. 24:18 I love it. 24:20 So what are the needs now that you have? 24:22 And trying to do this work, 24:24 what does Harrison's Referral Service need 24:27 or what does Emmanuel Food Pantry need? 24:29 What do you need? 24:30 Well, I will be honest, we always need financial help. 24:34 But we are really in need of... 24:36 I would like to have a 12 or 15 passenger van 24:40 where that when we do have victims of domestic violence 24:43 that don't have transportation 24:45 to get to the shelters that we are able to transport them. 24:51 Right now we have to try to pay for taxi cabs 24:54 and things like that to pick them up. 24:56 They have to meet them at certain locations 24:57 and places of safety to take them there, 24:59 but we want to be able to do that too as well. 25:02 We would love for anyone 25:04 to have a vehicle that they want to donate, 25:06 the finances for us to be 25:08 able to purchase another vehicle, 25:09 or just financial help any way possible. 25:13 Clothing, toiletries, personal items, 25:16 anything that they can donate, 25:18 but most of all, we really need the prayers. 25:19 But we really do need a vehicle. 25:21 We can take two vehicles, one, 25:23 but we will take whatever we can get to be 25:25 able to continue to help. 25:27 So people can reach you on the website, which is... 25:31 HarrisonsReferralServices.com, 25:34 or they can reach me 25:35 on my email at Lizzieharrison@sbcglobal.net 25:40 Say that again. 25:41 Lizzieharrison@sbcglobal.net 25:45 or they can reach me at 314-482-2594. 25:51 Great. 25:52 So they are all these ways to reach you, 25:55 all these ways to support what you're doing. 25:59 What you're doing is so, so important. 26:02 Do you have a quick closing thought 26:04 for our viewers? 26:05 Well, I would just say that 26:06 if you know you're experiencing domestic violence 26:08 or you feel that you're going through 26:10 or you know someone is going through abuse, 26:12 please understand that your help is needed. 26:16 If you hear something, call the police, 26:18 but never involve yourself 26:20 in the middle of the confrontation. 26:22 You want to stay as anonymous as possible. 26:24 But if you cannot stay anonymous, that's okay. 26:27 Be prayerful, ask God to show you the safest 26:31 and healthiest way to escape. 26:33 And to give you the resources that you need, 26:35 call the hotline for domestic violence. 26:38 You can also call Harrison's Referral Services. 26:40 Or as I said before, Google other resources, 26:43 or just reach out to family and friends, 26:45 especially your church family. 26:46 One thing I do want to say before we close is that, 26:49 I would like to be able to educate pastors 26:52 and church leaders on how to deal 26:54 with domestic violence in their churches 26:56 through men's ministries, women's ministries, 26:59 or just reach out to your church 27:01 and find out what resources they can, 27:03 you know, they can help 27:04 with to get you to that safe location. 27:05 That's great. 27:07 So you're available to come to different people's churches 27:09 to explain domestic violence, to explain what to do, 27:14 to share with them strategies of how to handle it? 27:16 Because we want the church to know that, you know, 27:20 a lot of the victims in your churches 27:22 are members of the church. 27:25 And you're gonna have to know 27:26 how to deal with domestic violence. 27:28 You're gonna need to know at least the protocol 27:30 to get them to their next level. 27:32 And so, you know, if I can get out 27:34 and do workshops, seminars, 27:37 I do speaking engagements and everything as well, so. 27:39 That's tremendous. 27:40 Well, thank you so much for being with us. 27:42 We so appreciate you. 27:44 Love you dearly 27:45 and we support what you're doing. 27:47 May God continue to bless you, and thank you for joining us. 27:51 Join us next time because you know what? 27:53 It just wouldn't be, 27:55 couldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2020-10-26