Primary Prevention Program
Beyond the End of Violence
Community organizing that engages everyone in preventing domestic and sexual violence — and in transforming our lives and communities — requires equal fierceness and hope. It requires believing in what the world will become beyond the end of violence, when equity and justice are the status quo. It requires holding this belief and future vision in our hearts and minds, so that we can create moments of that future in the present, and invite others to create those moment with us. It requires bringing people together in love, joy, laughter, and acceptance — acknowledging and celebrating that change will take everyone, and leading together for change needed now. By acting in this way, we become buoyed by the beloved community we are creating. We realize that bold change is possible. And looking at history, we know we are right.
Communities Leading Change
The future of domestic and sexual violence prevention — and ultimately ending violence — requires paradigms and processes that engage everyone in cresting change. We need everyone playing a role and taking responsibility for ending violence in our communities and in the broader society.
The way forward bring us into a new way of being — building relationship, discovering a shared vision, and collectively living that vision today. Doing so effectively reaches deep into our humanity and the social norms that cause violence, which makes the work both challenging and remarkable. It requires great effort and commitment, and accordingly, hold the potential to change communities for generations.
In this spirit, the Overview to Close to Home’s work sets out to convey the following:
- A rationale for calling on whole communities to lead domestic and sexual violence prevention
- A set of principles that guide community-wide efforts toward creating lasting social change
- An approach for moving as community as a community through understanding conversation, skill building, and action
- The possibilities when we do so, immediately and into the future
“I learned better ways to resolve conflicts so I don’t get into fights.”
-Jimmy
“I learned that sexual harassment can affect anyone, regardless of gender or age!”
-Erin