WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU DON'T GET WHAT YOU DESERVE

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU DON'T GET WHAT YOU DESERVE? It is called MERCY. What do you get when you've done absolutely nothing to acquire it. Well, that's called GRACE. If you want to know more about either of the two, you will have to stay tuned for my newest and soon to be released novel, "NO GRACE WITHOUT MERCY." And that's all I can say at this point.

Be on the lookout. This is your life changing experience. Writing it has changed ME.

Be blessed!

Trayvon Martin

Watching CNN and now I'm pent up with frustration, mixed emotions......and a heart that is aching for the parents of Trayvon Martin.

How can you murder a young man taking away all his potentials and then go into hiding like a coward. It breaks my heart to see this swept under a rug!

George Zimmerman, step forward you coward! You proclaim that this young man beat you up, but you're still alive.

A funeral, a procession, and racial slurs on a tape. I am reminded of Emmitt Till and how he was viciously murdered and so many others whose lives were brutally snatched away from them only to be covered up with lies.

Change Begins With Us---We Can Make A Difference

Awareness begins with us! As much as we see happening in our communities that we are not pleased with is a challenge to us to become involve. Violence in our schools, on our streets and more sadly, in our homes where children reside impacts and effects not only the individuals who are victims but also the community as a whole. How many times have you sat on a city bus or other means of public transportation and witnessed someone being harassed or threatened and you looked the other way, thinking....that's not my problem. Well, in reality, it becomes our problem. It becomes our problem every time a youth is sent to prison, whether by paying out of our pockets, or having taxes increased. It becomes our problem every time a child comes to school and cannot learn or chooses to find a way to express themselves in a negative capacity. Most do not believe this, but violence does begin at home. The youth are heavily impacted and their attitudes impede or should I say, extend from what they live! It is our duty to impact change.

I wrote a novel, "A WOMAN SCORN'D" that expresses through the lives of the characters written into the story what impact violence has on families. A member of my family was killed in 2004 at the hands of someone who took her life through a display of domestic violence. I miss her always. However, my mission is to keep her memories alive and to continue to spread awareness. My book was revisited after her death and I wrote in a character to assure that her voice would always be heard.

Beginning this month until the month of October, I am selling copies of my novel to campaign a fundraiser for "THE SOJOURNER'S HOUSE" transitional housing program that is a program through Women Against Abuse. I have taught workshops to the women in this program through a grant I received in 2008 from The Leeway Foundation in December of 2008. Through these workshops the women have learned how to embrace their self-esteems and strive for change in a positive way. Every woman in this program receives a copy of my novel and together we engage in conversations and dialogues along with strategies to impact change in their lives. We work towards them stepping away from the mentality of being a victim and becoming the NAVIGATORS of their own futures.

This program has lost a lot of funding as a result of city budget cuts. I am placing my novel on sale via FACEBOOK and other social networking mediums as well as it being available via Amazon.com. Anyone interested in purchasing a copy may also contact me via email: womaniknow2@yahoo.com. Info for where to mail your payment will be provided. The cost of the novels purchased directly from me will be $12.00 and 50% of the proceeds of the sale will be given to SOJOURNER'S HOUSE to help them through a donation I send to them on a yearly basis.

I pray your hearts will be touched and you will support my fundraiser. God bless you all! ~~~Dorothy Goins

A year of great possibilities

This being a new year filled with history manifested through the sweat and tears of those who paved the way before us through an adage and a vision of greatness, evokes in me every waking moment the motivation to achieve the limitless and endless wealth of greatness that exists. I am thankful to have witnessed the journey traveled by our new President, Barack Obama in my era and my children's era. Change has come, and much is before us in this country as we support and grow with President Obama.

Just as change of this magnitude took years of hard labor to reach, such is the task before our President. We have a commitment as well; to work towards making changes in our communities, schools, our youths as well as ourselves. Our duty is to involve ourselves in making a difference, not complaining or looking at the next person to do what we ourselves have the ability and capability of doing. President Barack Obama has proven the impossible can happen. It is our own consciousness that must believe we can create change in the same defined way.

Dr. Martin Luther King said, "“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”

Let us begin our lives anew and no longer walk, ride, or drive by the things we wish were different in silence.

We are destined for greatness!

Through it all...

This has been a challenging year for many. With the fall of the stock market, the myriads of changes that has touched our lives through a failing economy and the stress impressed upon many through the loss of homes through foreclosures and job losses, this has been a year of great change. Through it all we have a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed us greatly and kept us together mentally and physically for those who have learned to trust and lean solely on faith. History has made its presence through our newly President Elect, Barack Obama. A change is going to come. And through it all, let's give thanks for the good and the bad. I believe that no more than what you can handle is placed upon you. If you keep your faith in tact and remind yourself daily of the things you are thankful for....through it all, we can make it. Have a blessed and joyous holiday season. Share a good thought with someone and make someone smile.

Unsung heroes in our community

I love Black History Month, although I am Black History three hundred and sixty five days each year. However, this is the one time we collectively learn together and share so much about our past, our history makers and who is doing what in our communities.

I took some time out to reflect and during this entire month I would like to portray each day going forward information on the unsung heroes who are positively changing our community. My interviews this month will expose to you change agents, advocates, mentors and authors making a difference. Through portraying these individuals I hope to give you inspiration through the greater efforts and accomplishments of our African American men and women who continue to strive for change through undying efforts. I hope to flicker a flame in those who are seeking ways to becoming more actively involved in their community. These unsung heroes are key leaders and they are leaving a mark whether you know it or not. Consequently, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Langston Hughes, Sonya Sanchez, Maya Angelou and so many notable others have sparked and ignited in me the energy and the drive to rise up and be heard.

Meet Annette Owens-Johnson, a true and sincere advocate for change. She is the director of Women Against Abuse, Inc. transitional housing program “Sojourner House.” We met a year after I launched my campaign, “Speaking up against Domestic Violence.” After the brutal murder of my sister-in-law, who lost her life at the hands of her abuser, I reached out to Women Against Abuse, Inc. (WAA) and asked them to allow me to support their cause jointly through my novel, A Woman Scorn’d and through my campaigning numerous copies of A Woman Scorn’d have been donated to the Sojourner House program to assist with their cause. I continue to support them by assisting with developing fundraiser events and spreading awareness at my book signings through my speeches, the brochures WAA supplies to me and from passing out the crisis hotline numbers wherever I go.

DG: Annette, as an advocate and a change agent working in the profession of assisting women who are transitioning from a life of abuse to a life of completeness and total control of their situation, I felt the need to show others how affective your input has been. Help me and others who are reading this article for the first time, to understand the importance of what you do for our community. What has motivated you to become an advocate?

AJ: My motivation to become an advocate began when I was just a teenager, as I witnessed various social ills, such as an unjust criminal justice system, institutional racism, and violence, both domestic and abroad. I was a witness to these social ills all throughout my environment, including my own home. Being a witness to various social ills throughout my life has had a profound impact on how I choose to live my life to combat these ills.

DG: Can you describe for me a typical day in your profession?

AJ: Well, as a social worker, a typical day in my larger profession is all-encompassing, as social workers at large work in just about every field, from health care, to politics, to the justice system. As far as a typical day in my particular occupation, as the director of transitional housing for Women Against Abuse, Inc. (WAA), this entails the overall management of WAA's transitional housing facility Sojourner House, and includes hiring, guiding and supervising Sojourner House staff- case managers, the Children's Program, maintenance and housekeeping, and an MSW intern; ensuring that the program is in compliance and external requirements, including extensive completion of reports; exploring various resources, through staff trainings, and meetings, including the distribution of these resources; and providing guidance for the actual physical structure of the facility, i.e., managing inventory, repairs, renovations, etc.

DG: What are the rewards in doing what you do each and everyday?

AJ: As far as the rewards to what I do each and everyday, first let me just say that the social work profession tends to be an undervalued profession. Our overarching goal is to assist and partner with those who are in need, and we do this throughout every facet of life, with relatively little respect or recognition, in terms of compensation, etc., compared to other helping professions. It's a good thing we're not in it for the money. I do want to bring awareness to this issue, nevertheless, as this is one thing that I strive to do every day within my profession. Actually, the real rewards for me and my fellow social workers lie in the fact that we are truly helping vulnerable and oppressed populations, from the elderly lady in hospice care, to my clients, who are families who are surviving the tragedies of domestic violence. Every day that I go to work, no matter how demanding it gets, and trust me, it does get really demanding, I see the positive change that is being brought forth, by virtue of our clients, the people that we are serving. I see it in the expressions and interactions amongst both clients and staff. And I can honestly say that I love what I do. That's priceless.

DG: If there was one thing you could change in the community what exactly would it be?

AJ: Wow, only one thing that I would change about the community? There are so many needs. Well, if I was able to change only one thing, it would have to be that people would focus their efforts on a collective cause to bring about peace. Certain societies today seem to be so individualized that instead of thinking of the various ways that we can help our fellow person, our thoughts focus on how we as individuals and sects can remain in power, by any means necessary, mainly through oppression, and particularly through violence (by cultivating both war in the home, as well as war abroad), while simultaneously distracting us from the real needs and issues at hand.

Again, through my experiences in working with WAA, and in general, I have seen how making a concerted effort towards positive change can actually bring that change about. And there are so many opportunities to do this, for one, through volunteering to assist in various causes, combating various social ills, but also in our everyday life. As stated by our Maintenance Technician at Sojourner House: if everybody in the world gave just a little bit more, just imagine what a better world it would be.

DG: Thanks, Annette. I would like to thank you for giving of your time unselfishly for the sole benefit of others and for allowing me the opportunity to show the community how devoted and dedicated you are to such a worthy cause. It’s people like you who truly make a difference!

AJ: And I want to thank you, Dorothy, for giving not just a little bit more, but a lot more, to the cause. Be Blessed.

DG: Let’s all make a difference. Stop the silence and speak up against Domestic Violence. Together our voices will be heard!

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” _ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign

Soon summer will come to a close and the unbearable heat and excitement of outdoor cook-outs and vacationing will be on the back burner for many of us. The leaves will change into a collage of vibrant colors and fall will breach the horizon taking us into a new season.

In the midst of our transitioning, we will not even realize that while we are making the necessary adjustments for the new season somewhere there is a woman, a child and even a man who is facing a dangerous and harsh reality every single second, minute or hour of the day regardless of what is happening with the seasons.

Domestic violence never takes a vacation and never ceases to halt for any one of the four seasons. Throughout the year,we have lost many to the senseless killings that evolve out of domestic violence. A great many of them go unreported.

I can never forget. My loved one is no longer here on this earth because of all this senseless killing. We hear it everyday on the radio on 103.9 FM that it starts with me and it starts with you. I started my campaign after the death of my sister in law who was murdered on December 30, 2004 while I was penning my novel, A Woman Scorn'd. December 2, 2005 commerated the launch of my "speaking out against domestic violence campaign." These first steps for me were hard but necessary.

I am moving forward this year. My goal is to reach as many as I can to help me get the word out and to speak out against the "violence." We need to silence the killing, not our loved ones.
Please join me this year in assisting the shelters with outpouring support to provide awareness on a topic that needs greater national attention. I challenge you to reach out and think of the people who face danger every waking moment of their lives.

October is the designated month for Domestic Violence. I encourage you to visit my website: www.dorothygoins. com to learn more about my campaigning for October 2007. The information will be posted and updates will be on the site beginning in the month of September.