"Why do you do it...?"

I've been asked this question on more than one occasion.  At three A.M. in an emergency department, with a survivor who's there after facing a life altering trauma, sometimes alone.  But SAVI advocates are there so they don't have to be alone. So they have someone there on their side, explaining the services available to them, helping them process the experience and being an emotional support.  The SAVI mission is dedicated to validating, healing and empowering survivors and their supporters to lead safe, healthy lives through advocacy, free and confidential counseling, and public education.

"During 2004-2006, an estimated 105,187 females and 6,526 males aged 10-24 years received medical care in U.S. emergency departments as a result of non-fatal injuries sustained from a sexual assault."  CDC MMWR

Why do I do it?  I do it because one needn't face an ER on their own after experiencing a sexual assault or intimate partner violence.  I do it because it happens so often, that each of one of us knows at least one person who has survived such violence - whether you know it has happened or not.  I am not excluded from this statistic.  It is widely known that 1 in 5 women will experience/have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime.  I joined SAVI in the fall of 2007 so that I could be a part of the healing community, to work for a more positive experience in a person's life.  But I'm only one of hundreds of advocates from our program, and many more in programs around the nation and the world.  I am not writing here for accolades, not for doing something that I feel is right and just in the service to others.  I am writing today, because tonight is the annual benefit for SAVI.  

I was pleased to be asked to join the Friends of SAVI committee earlier this year, to help with the benefit that they plan to raise money for SAVI each November.  I will go tonight to celebrate the service that SAVI fulfills in my community, and to celebrate the people that make that happen.  I cannot wait to see the room, crowded with SAVI supporters - because with them, and with the people that volunteer their time and their hearts, that is what makes this organization so special.

We may be far from eliminating sexual violence, and intimate partner violence.  But we will continue to work each call, each day, each month, each year to help empower survivors.

If you are interested in helping SAVI, learn about volunteering with SAVI here, or how to donate here.

If you have been the victim of a sexual assault, or intimate partner violence in New York City:

• Victim Services 24-Hour Hotline 212-577-7777
• NYC Police Department Special Victims 24-Hour Report Line 646-610-7273
• NYC Domestic Violence 24-Hour Hotline 800-621-4673

Day and Night in Central Park

A Beautiful Morning in the Park

Turns into a Beautiful Night...

Skyline by the Sheep's Meadow - looking west.


A crescent moon, with Venus close below.


Some quiet benches along the poets walk.