Dear Friends,

This August marks 50 years since women gathered in City Hall Plaza in Boston on August 26, 1976, to speak out publicly against violence against women, with civil rights advocate Florynce Kennedy among those who addressed the crowd. It was one of many moments that year that pushed domestic violence out of silence and into public view. The same year, Radiant Futures, then known as the Women’s Transitional Living Center, opened its doors on the opposite coast.

Fifty years later, that same spirit of speaking up and showing up carries forward here at Radiant Futures, in every advocate we train, every survivor we walk beside, and every program built because someone had the courage to say something needed to change.

That belief comes to life in the survivors we walk alongside. Irena came to our Personal Empowerment Program (PEP) unsure if she’d made the right choice in filing a restraining order to protect her children, but open to what the classes could offer her. Her story is a reminder of why this work matters, and an invitation: if her journey moves you, you can become an advocate yourself. Our 52-Hour Domestic Violence & Human Trafficking Certification starts August 18, and it’s open to anyone ready to turn compassion into action.

Thank you for being part of this milestone year with us. Whatever brings you to this community, your support is what makes the next chapter possible.

In Gratitude,

Mark

Source: “Domestic Violence in the 1970s,” Circulating Now, U.S. National Library of Medicine.