October is Domestic Violence Action Month. DVAM. YWCA Pierce County.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) nationwide. The original purpose of DVAM was to connect domestic violence advocates around the country and region. As the month grew in popularity, it has expanded to involve everyone interested in learning about domestic violence, reporting instances and breaking the cycle of violence.

During the month of October, YWCA Pierce County holds Domestic Violence Action Month – moving the focus from understanding the issue to taking action to prevent and end domestic violence in our community.

This year, we are moving back to in-person events! Are you a business or organization that wants to partner with us to host a DVAM event? Join us as we raise awareness and encourage community action this October. Events in that past have included a kick-off event at Doyle's, in-kind and monetary donation drives, drink & food specials with a portion donated to the YWCA, and special events that allow community members to learn more about domestic violence prevention in the South Sound. 



 


WHAT IS THE 21-DAY DVAM CHALLENGE?

This year Domestic Violence Action Month (DVAM) is going virtual!

As part of DVAM, we are hosting a virtual 21-day challenge. Every weekday you will get an email with various learning challenges such as podcasts, videos, and articles that examine the intersections of white supremacy, racism, and domestic and sexual violence.

Through this challenge, we will explore topics such as white supremacy, criminalization of survival, barriers to accessing services, and transformative justice. By learning about these topics, we will develop a deeper understanding of the barriers that survivors of color face in seeking assistance. We will leave this challenge with tools and skills to better support survivors of color, through strategies that were developed and fostered by people of color (especially women of color).

We hope that you will join us for our DVAM adventure, and we can’t wait to kick it off!

TIMELINE

We will be launching a new challenge this year for people to participate in! Check back later to learn more and register.
 

REFLECTION TOOLS FOR THE CHALLENGE


WHAT INSPIRED YWCA’S 21 DAY CHALLENGE?

Originally developed by Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. and Debby Irving, the 21-Day challenge has been adapted by many organizations across the country. By taking 21 days to form a habit, the challenge aims to have participants build in a set-aside time and space to build more effective social justice habits.

We want to thank Food Solutions New England for inspiring this challenge. They were the first to adapt an exercise from Dr. Eddie Moore and Debby Irving’s book into the interactive 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge, which they launched in 2014. We also want to thank The YWCA of Greater Cleveland for leading this work with their 21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge and sharing that work with the YWCA National network.