#StandingTogether
People standing together, unified to stop what is happening.
It will take both men and women standing together on this issue to truly create change. It will take students and teachers, it will take mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, people, humans standing together.
Prevention thru empathy, compassion, and unity.
Providing personal safety and self-awareness courses for any young women that can attend.
A More Complete Approach:
Because it is so much more than just physical self-defense.
Touching on the spectrum of issues that may affect our younger generation, the mental, emotional, and should a situation arise the ability to handle oneself physically.
What The World Is Currently Doing
Physical self-defense courses have never been more prevalent or accessible in society. Yet statistics continue to rise. It takes so much more than just learning how to fight or defend oneself to truly impact this issue.
Our Formula To Help
A class that offers support, education and sanctuary to young women attending
A group experience led by both men and women
A basic comprehension of physical encounters with a heavy emphasis on how to AVOID or ESCAPE the situation
But More Importantly...
Knowledge of the world, the self, and growth through thought.
What will you tolerate? What will you not tolerate? Emotional anchor.
What is love? Happiness? Trust?
Our Biggest Obstacle... Price
Our biggest obstacle was the "hoop-jumping" of money, location etc. to provide our service. Unfortunately, many opportunities for us to provide knowledge and service fell through strictly because of the fact that the logistics were too hard or complicated to work out.
For Free...
Since the beginning we have believed that this knowledge should not be exclusive only to those who can pay for it. So we have decided to provide what we can free of cost. We are mobile throughout San Diego County and serve community groups, schools, and colleges at their location or ours.
We are actively serving or working to collaborate with the below groups.
Our Affiliates:
Poway Unified School District
Abraxas High School
Poway High School
Girl Scouts of San Diego
YMCA of San Diego
California State University San Marcos
Alpha Chi Omega
Break The Silence Against Domestic Violence
Girls Inc.
Conversation
Our movement is actively working in several high schools in San Diego to create clubs for students. Clubs that allow open and safe conversation of these issues.
Through understanding and the ability to identify with one another we can build compassion among students and our younger generation.
All Too Often...
Our society tends to blame women for what they might have done
To neglect to understand the man's role in the situation or he gets off all too easy
To tell women to take self-defense courses and arm themselves with various mechanisms
What We Don't Do
Ask the question of: "Why are men doing this?"
Speak to our young men about what they are seeing in culture and how they're behaving
Create understanding and compassion on a larger, more cultural scale
This Has To Go Both Ways
Our founder and a small team are actively speaking and working to open more conversation around this issue.
It has to be more than just telling our women to protect themselves. Our movement is working to address the idea of why our men are doing what they're doing, and what we can do to prevent it.
Our Ethos
It is our responsibility as a movement, as a society, and as a culture to provide all that we possibly can to give our youth every opportunity to live the entirety of their lives fully.
Regardless of money
Regardless of societal stigma
Regardless of political climate
It is our responsibility to shine light into the darkness of these issues.
To give our youth all the means possible to know that they are never alone, to know that they are prepared, to know that we are talking about and acting towards these issues, to know that they have support, and to know that we as humans will stand together.
"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr.
#StandingTogether