Volume 2, Issue 6
2nd Quarter 2008

FROM THE PUBLISHER

“Our citizenship is in heaven”
 - Philippians 3:20

Dear Friends,

Blessed as we are by abundant beauty, perfect climate and warm, generous people, as individuals we sometimes don’t see things in our community that we should. Fortunately on Maui, Women Helping Women serves as our eyes and ears to help those in our midst harmed by the tragedy of domestic violence. For its critical work in this realm, we dedicate this issue in support of Women Helping Women (WHW). With limited resources, WHW shelters, protects and helps rebuild shattered lives on Maui - services at the very heart of what it means to be a community.

In 2006, WHW of Maui sheltered more than 260 women and children, coordinated more than 300 temporary restraining orders, handled more than 2,000 hotline crisis calls and made more than 12,000 referrals. Each number represents lives in crisis – members of our community who, because of WHW, have a place to go for help. WHW is truly an island of refuge for those adrift in a sea of pain. 

Its mission is to end domestic violence through advocacy, education and prevention, while offering safety, support and empowerment to the women and children who are victims of domestic violence. In the warped world of domestic violence, women often feel responsible for the abuse they suffer. WHW lets them know that being safe from physical and emotional violence in your own home is a basic, non-negotiable right – enforceable by law.

Maui’s WHW is part of a national movement begun in the 1970s, whose motto is “There’s No Place Like Hope.” If you are in crisis, please call the 24-Hour Domestic Violence Hotline at 808-579-9581 or 911. Help is immediately available. All calls are confidential.

It’s hard to fathom that in a place as beautiful as our island home, something as ugly as domestic violence exists, but it does. For its victims, simply having hope can be the most beautiful thing on earth.

Please consider a tax deductible gift to this extraordinary organization, and join them for their annual fundraiser “An Elegant Afternoon Tea” in late April or early May, a catered affair with live and silent auctions. Call 242-6600 for updated information on time and place. You can mail a check to: Women Helping Women, 1935 Main Street, Suite 202, Wailuku, Hawaii 96793 or go to www.whwmaui.net and give online.

Mahalo nui loa,