Seeds of Hope

I have edited the following letter only enough to make it more readable. It is a heartfelt testimony to Seeds of Hope, a local organization that has helped many people escape abusive relationships. The writer is so generous to think of others in situations similar to the one she suffered through.

Hello Miss SmartyPants,

I’m a 58-year-old person who no longer has to suffer violence. I’ve been living violence free for about 9 or 11 years. I have a group called Seeds of Hope to thank. Now there may not be a Seeds of Hope. Why? Because the state doesn’t have the money to run it.

Some of the big wig people never had to go through a hit, a gun held to your head, or being beaten up so badly you had to tell family or coworkers you fell down some stairs or ran into a door. And you are the only one who knows what really happened.

So the only place you can go is where people really care for you. There are others who go there who have a worse life. Some have children. They have been there from the time I got the strength to leave the person who hurt me bad. It took 5 times and me taking a lot of pills to get out of the house.

They took me to a safe place to stay that night. The next day they came and helped me with my own safe place, gave me the clothes on my back, furniture to put in my home, and helped me to get work. They helped me find a group of people who really care what is going on in their lives. There are folks out there that got it worse than me.

Well, I just wanted people here in Waterloo and other towns to know they have a place to go. So if you all can’t save our Seeds of Hope, there won’t be any seeds we can hope for.

Isn’t that beautifully expressed? Such a compassionate person. I contacted Seeds of Hope to find out what is going on, and received this answer from the Executive Director,Terry Helinski:

Unfortunately, the woman who wrote to you is correct; Seeds of Hope has lost its funding and will be transitioning out of services in Black Hawk County by the end of December 2013. The incoming agency for domestic abuse services is Waypoint Services (1-800-208-0388), and for sexual assault is Riverview Center (1-888-557-0310), effective October 1, 2013. Seeds of Hope will be working alongside the incoming agencies and will be providing them with assistance during the transition.

This is a very sad time for us at Seeds of Hope. However, several seasoned Seeds of Hope advocates have been hired by the incoming agencies, so their skills will be carried over to continue their stellar work with victims of violence in our area.

If you are interested in volunteering with Waypoint Services, contact Tara Beck, Co-Director of Domestic Violence Victim Services, at 319-365-1458 ext. 6143 or tara@waypointservices.org; or Jaye Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer at 319-365-1458 ext. 6130 or jkennedy@waypointservices.org.

You may speak with Terry Helinski, Executive Director of Seeds of Hope , at 319-272-1400.

If you are a victim of domestic violence and need assistance, call 319-363-2093 or 1-800-208-0388.