Purple Hose And Healing Foundation Spreading Awareness About Domestic Violence
Purple Hose And Healing Foundation Spreading Awareness About Domestic Violence
By Tia Carol Jones
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. To commemorate the month, which is set aside each year to bring awareness and educate people about what domestic violence is, honor the survivors and remember those lost to domestic violence, the Purple Hose and Healing Foundation is hosting two events.
The 2nd Annual Purple Awards and Scholarship Gala will take place at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9th, at The Odyssey Venue, located at 19110 S. Ridgeland in Tinley Park. The 5K Domestic Violence Awareness Charity Event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 11th, at the Community Park, located at 175th and Maple Ave. in Country Club Hills.
The Purple Hose and Healing Foundation was founded by Latrice Mosley-Smith in November of 2020. Even before she founded the organization, Mosely-Smith began hosting the Purple Hose and Heels 5K. The first event took place on Oct. 18, 2014, in honor of Mosley-Smith’s mother, Linda Jean Mosley, who experienced physical and emotional abuse due to domestic violence. While Mosley-Smith’s mother was able to survive five years of abuse, Mosley-Smith wanted to use her voice to speak for those who lost their voice because of domestic violence.
For the event, participants put on purple pantyhose and purple heels, as a way to symbolically walk in their sisters’ shoes. Mosley-Smith said doing that shows while walking in heels on concrete is a small amount of temporary pain, that women who are experiencing domestic violence are going through much more pain every day.
Mosley-Smith said the idea for the Purple Hose and Healing Foundation to do a gala came after the success of the 5K. She said the scholarship gala is a way to give back to young people who witnessed or experienced domestic violence. Mosley-Smith knows what that is like, she was a child who witnessed the abuse that her mother experienced at the hands of her father.
“No one thinks about the child that is going through this,” she said. She went to counseling and said it helped her a lot and she advises others to seek help when they need it.
At last year’s event, three scholarships were distributed to individuals. Val Warner was honored and received the Purple Perseverance Award and the Woman of the Year Award. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was awarded the Humanitarian Award. Mosley-Smith said Pritzker received the award because he approved legislation that helped people who experienced domestic violence.
This year, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke is being awarded the Humanitarian Award. Mosley-Smith said O’Neill Burke has been tackling the issue of domestic violence and has hired attorneys who are trained to work with domestic violence victims. Mosley-Smith said having attorneys in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office who are trained and educated about how to deal with domestic violence victims is an important step for those individuals receiving the help they truly need.
“She’s listening and that’s the point; we need people to listen. We want people to see something, say something, do something; and now, she is the one that is doing something that is changing the outcome for a lot of these individuals,” she said.
Mosley-Smith said that domestic violence victims being able to talk about their experiences are blessing others and blessing themselves when they speak out. She told her story in a survivor’s monologue, knowing that by sharing her story, it would be able to heal someone else. She said it is cleansing, very helpful and can be a release. She encourages people to find a forum to share their stories.
Mosley-Smith said there is a misconception that victims of domestic violence can easily leave their situation. She said statistics show that a person trying to leave a domestic violence situation is more likely to be killed preparing to leave than being in the home every single day. She said people stay in a relationship because they have children, they have already been isolated from their family, or they believe no one would believe them or help them. She said it is so easy to point the blame at victims because people have not experienced it or didn’t have anyone in their family who went through it. She said people who have been up close and personal with a domestic violence situation would know how hard it is to leave.
“The best thing a person can do is be there as a sounding board for the victim and help her get through the situation,” she said.
Registration for the 5K Domestic Violence Awareness Charity Event is $35. Attire for the Purple Awards & Scholarship Gala is semi-formal, and shades of purple are suggested. Tickets cost $125. For more information about the Purple Hose and Healing Foundation, visit phhfinc.org.
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