Last Thursday, October 1st marked the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This month of raising awareness and taking action looks a little different this year for DASH and other organizations across the District as we prioritize our community’s safety and health and shift all of our typical activities online.
It is more important than ever to recognize the importance of this month amid the pandemic, which has created a second pandemic of its own. DASH Executive Director, Koube Ngaaje, shares:
“Domestic violence has become a second pandemic of its own—stay-at-home orders became worst case scenarios, leaving survivors trapped indoors with their abusers. When the pandemic first broke out, we were seeing almost four times the number of survivors reach out for services.”
For Koube Ngaaje, helping others is in her DNA
We know the effects of this will remain long-term, so we need all the support we can get from the community to continue providing survivors and their families the safe housing and critical services they need.
While we can’t gather in person just yet, there is no shortage of ways to get involved! All month long, there will be opportunities to engage from joining the conversation on social media, becoming a fun-raiser to rally your friends and family to support our $10K Challenge to provide Welcome Home Kits, or attend a virtual event!
For the full list of ways to get involved, please visit: dashdc.org/dvam/
