Harlem domestic violence survivor advocates to save others
NEW YORK - This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, nonprofits are reaching out those who may not otherwise ask for help. One Harlem woman helps others through her own experience.
This week at the office of We All Really Matter, or WARM, founder Stephanie McGraw counted donations ahead of a weekend diaper drive, while designing posters for next week's awareness walk. She hopes to connect with victims who have been suffering in silence.
"We were already in a pandemic before this pandemic hit," explained McGraw. "It just put women in danger. The abuser had the green light ... and we saw the numbers go up 75% right here in our community."
McGraw knows firsthand the importance of escaping abuse. She finally broke free 15 years ago.
"He was a manifestation of how I felt about myself," she said. "I was never going to find love until I learned how to start loving myself. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but it is the door to freedom."
She reached a breaking point when she found herself bleeding on a concrete floor at the hands of her abuser. In the emergency room, a social worker connected McGraw to help, but on her journey to independence, she did not see many advocates who looked like her.
Now WARM has a team of survivors on staff, who respond to domestic emergencies alongside police.
"Sometimes I just go right in, 'Do you want to live or you want to die?'" McGraw said. "Because sometimes it's just that critical."
The notebook she carries, filled with flyers of vigils for victims, proves her point.
"Every single last one of these women were murdered, and we honored them," said McGraw.
McGraw encounters many who face financial fears, making them stay in abusive relationships. This Saturday, Oct. 22, WARM will host Love On The Block to give away clothes, diapers and wipes to families. The event takes place on 115th Street between Second and Third Avenues, from 12-5 p.m.
On Thursday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m., WARM will take a walk around the Polo Grounds Towers at 155th Street and Eighth Avenue to call for an end to domestic abuse.
"The radio calls that come out of the Polo Grounds are 60% higher," McGraw said. "It is astonishing right here in Harlem, so we're going right to the belly of the beast."
She believes speaking up may save a life. To learn more about WARM, click here.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse at home, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-799-SAFE (7233).
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