They lost their daughter to domestic violence. Now they're on a mission to promote safe homes.
A Twin Cities family is on a mission to raise awareness about domestic violence after losing their daughter.
Lissa Weimelt says her wounds are still fresh. It's been five years since Weimelt and Bill Pew's 28-year-old daughter Maria was murdered by her husband in Maple Grove.
"Maria was just the best daughter two parents could have. A lover of animals and nature, and she was a competitive cheerleader, a competitive gymnast," Weimelt said.
Within a month of her death, the couple had established Maria's Voice, a nonprofit focused solely on preventing domestic violence before it occurs through education.
Those who are victimized and the people around them often don't know or identify the signs of the power-and-control wheel – things like intimidation, threats, isolation, using technology for stalking, or even using kids or money to hurt someone they know or love.
"There were signs, but we missed them. We mislabeled everything. We said he was a creep and a jerk and a bunch of four-letter words, but we didn't say he's a domestic abuser. We missed the most important vocabulary because we didn't know it," said Weimelt.
Maria's Voice trained over 7,500 city employees in 15 cities last year and another 34,000 parishioners.
"They don't know what to do. They don't know what to say. Maybe the fall back is 'it's none of my business,' because it's so uncomfortable. And what we're trying to do this year is give people the words to say," Angie Bottema, director of education programs and community engagement for Maria's Voice, said.
To that end, the nonprofit just launched Bold Voices, where real men talk to other men about domestic abuse. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges was the first to appear in the new series of videos.
"Booker has been a longtime supporter of Maria's Voice, plus he himself is a survivor of domestic violence in his family," said Weimelt.
Father and husband Steve Curtis also felt compelled to step up.
"When you see something and you don't understand, it's ok to ask those hard questions. We need to figure out the root cause and I think education in this instance is huge for both men and women," said Curtis.
Although Maria is gone, Weimelt still talks to her every day.
"I hear her say, 'Mom, quit your crying and just get to work,'" said Weimelt.
Inspiration -- to end domestic abuse.
"It's all of us being really passionate about this beautiful girl we lost and wanting to make a difference in her honor. You know it's Maria doing this work, we're just the instrument," said Weimelt.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline at 1-800-799-SAFE or Minnesota Day One at 1-866-223-1111.