QUINCY, MA – As the sun began to set overlooking the breathtaking golf course at Granite Links, guests gathered to raise both funds and spirits to support the Quincy based non-profit DOVE, dedicated to ending domestic violence.
“From the moment that I stepped foot into Dove’s office, I felt like it was a healing space,” explains Mick Hirsch, newly appointed Executive Director at DOVE. “The social workers who are providing counseling, the counseling that’s not just for the adults or the survivors but also for the child survivors. They have the prevention educators out in schools. They have individuals who are advocates to support specific communities. We have a legal staff. All of these services – that’s holistic care and that’s what DOVE is.”
The electric dance party transformed the ballroom in a way that didn’t miss a mark, from an elegant and welcoming cocktail hour with a prize wheel, game stations, raffle and silent auction to their buffet style dinner with their iconic mashed potato bar at the center. The space was truly designed to be an uplifting and safe environment for those walking through their healing journeys from abuse and those who walk with them.
“When people are heard, when people are seen, when they’re validated, when they’re believed, when they’re given an opportunity to share their experience in a place that’s safe I think that’s such an opportunity for transition for them to change, for them to think differently, for them to believe in themselves,” says Kathleen Lydon, Director of Community Based Services at DOVE.
For many, Kathleen explains, leaving abusive relationships isn’t as easy as it seems. From financial barriers to housing concerns and an element of self-doubt of their own experiences, it can be a long process for someone to recognize the situation they are in and navigate their own individual path to a safe and stable future. “People really don’t realize that it’s abusive, and they don’t realize that abuse looks really really different for different people,” says Deja Casiano, HEEP at DOVE.
Thankfully, the team at DOVE has spent decades providing a space for survivors in all stages of abuse-related trauma to seek the help they need to grow. “Each and every individual that is part of DOVE – they’re all doves,” says Hirsch. “They’re all symbols of that freedom and that peace. Collectively, we are all that organization that we call DOVE.”
To learn more about DOVE, visit their website.
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Emmalyn Reid 