Lifeline

Here is an excerpt of a post from RecoveringStraightGirl, Kathryn Martini, who attended Safety In Numbers 2008 and is a survivor of domestic violence.

Thank you for sharing your story and for giving me permission to share it here, Kathryn. Thank you so much.

Read the whole post here


I felt invisible. Like my lower extremities no longer existed and the only thing that I could feel was a deep, dark pain sinking into my chest like a big, black, weight falling into a bed of cotton balls.

We pulled into our garage–both children still asleep and I said, “If you leave now, I won’t call the police.”

He laughed and said, “Go Ahead and Call the police! You hit me first! You’re the one who they would arrest! Oh. My. God. Kathryn! What is wrong with you?”

I stayed in the car and cried. He packed his suitcase and left our home without apology or explanation.

I moved my sleeping children into their beds and called my best friend. She came over and I told her the whole story.

She then told me a story about she and her husband when they were first married. They were wrestling and playing around. They got carried away and he accidentally broke her arm. She went to the hospital and lied–saying that she fell in the bathroom. He was very remorseful and went to counseling to deal with his violent tendencies. She forgave him and that was the end of it. She told me that we could work through this.
Somehow that gave me no comfort.

She stayed with my children while I went to the doctor. I was honest with my doctor and told her about the entire ordeal. She told me that sometimes these things happen and that we could probably work through it. She gave me a prescription for Vicodin and sent me to get an X-Ray.
Somehow that gave me no comfort.

I went home and somehow got through the evening. After the girls were asleep I took a Vicodin and called the Portland Women’s Crisis Line. I cried in my bed for an hour as I talked to someone who understood me.

Join Us at Portland International Women's Day

Do you often think to yourself, "I wish I could be at an event with over 2,000 people honoring women and the work they do?" Do you often want to attend women's workshops, panels, hear women musicians and speakers, and buy things from women vendors??

If so, PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY is happening THIS SUNDAY (!) at Portland State University in the Smith Center Ballroom from 2p - 8p. PWCL will be there as a community tabling partner, and our very own ED Rebecca Peatow Nickels will be on the "Womening Working for the Community Panel". Hey, I'll even be there facilitating the panel. Come check out my facilitatin' skills.

Other exciting things happening at PIWD 2008:

• Blubird (Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls band who also performed at PWCL's Safety In Numbers 2007)
• Liv Warfield performance
• The Alphabetix performance
• Performance by Oregonian columnist S Renee Mitchell
• Appearance by Hip Mama author Ariel Gore
• Workshops
• Table and food vendors

I'm really excited about this event... mostly because two of the raddest chicks in activism have been chairing this year. So here's a shout out to fellow PWCL blogger Katie C. and Portland State Women's Resource Center all-star staffer Zena P. I can't wait for Sunday!

Portland International Women's Day
www.piwd.org
Sunday, March 9
2:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Portland State University Smith Center Ballroom
1825 SW Broadway

A $3 donation is requested at the door

Join Us at the PSU Vagina Monologues!

I want to take a minute out of my day to let you know about the upcoming Vagina Monologues happening at Portland State University this Thursday and Friday. PWCL will be tabling with all of our materials and we hope you will join us to enjoy the show. We were fortunate enough to have attended PCC Sylvania's production of the VM last week and I don't want to miss out on another opportunity to invite you all to join us this round!

Here's the info from PSU's Women's Resource Center:

Join us as we celebrate V-Day’s Ten Year Anniversary and raise awareness to end violence against women. Two performances only, February 14th & 15th in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom. Doors open at 7:00, show starts at 8:00. General admission is $11, or $8 for students (with ID) and seniors. Proceeds from the show with benefit The Tri-County Sexual Assault Task Force.

For more information contact Anna Eichhorn at psuvagina2008@gmail.com

PWCL in the Oregonian

Today's Oregonian features an article about PWCL with a focus on volunteering and our upcoming Basic Advocacy Training. Check it out here:

Answering the call for women in crisis

This piece specifically focuses on our of our stellar volunteers and on-call staff, Kendra, who has spent time sharing her experience as a PWCL volunteer over the past year at Safety In Numbers and other outreach events. So, here's a big thank you to Kendra for representing PWCL's mission so well!

Even though the article was only published this morning, we have already received a number of calls to our office from people wanting to learn more about PWCL or get involved in our upcoming training. I wish we could publish a story about PWCL every week.

Please pass this article along to help spread the word about PWCL.