In December 2014 Phillip Sargent's sister, Christina Sargent, and her two children, Duwayne and Destiny, were murdered at the hands of her live-in boyfriend. All too often we learn of the families in these hostile, and often times fatal, environments when it's too late to help them. Phil, like most family members who endure this kind of grief, had many emotions to process including anger, guilt an
d sadness. The problem for the family and friends of the abused is domestic violence is often times silent. Women and men alike might not even realize they're being abused. If they do they often times are made to believe they deserve it, or they feel trapped, not knowing where to turn. We want people to know emotional abuse is still abuse, they are not in the wrong, and most importantly, they are not alone. Phil realized early on he needed to channel his emotions and somehow turn this traumatizing situation into something positive. The mission became to break the silence of domestic violence, and the Break the Silence Campaign was born. It all began with a Co-Ed Softball Tournament in May 2015. The tournament, and other events held in conjunction with it, raised $4,300 on a fairly short planning timeframe. All proceeds were donated to the Next Step Domestic Violence Project. Since then we have expanded to other fundraising events (which can be found on this page). Also, with a $5,000 cash donation, we gained our first major sponsor in Big Cat's Catering and Restaurant. We involved are sincerely passionate about this mission and have made it a part of our lives. We work closely with the Next Step and feel as though this is where our funds will help the most people escape their domestic abusers. The resources are there, and we want to be sure people know about them. If you are in a domestic abuse situation (or you know somebody who is), please reach out. Love does not hurt, and we do not want anybody believing the abuse they receive is normal. The Next Step's website is:
http://www.nextstepdvproject.org
The Next Step's 24 hour crisis hotline is:
1-800-315-5579
Together we can BREAK THE SILENCE.
