Features Reporter
Photo by: Chris Clark
Valentine’s Day had a bigger meaning this year. As “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister played from the speakers, dozens of students and community members gathered in front of the University Center last Thursday to dance and share personal stories in honor of 1 Billion Rising.
According to the 1 Billion Rising website, “One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. One billion women violated is an atrocity. One billion women dancing is a revolution.”
The event, according to the website, is a one day only “Global activist movement to end violence against women and girls.” Over 200 countries around the world participated in the event, making it the largest day of mass action to stop violence against women and girls.
Kat Bendele was one of the women helping to put on the event held at CMU and got involved because of the various celebrities who have spoken out in favor of 1 Billion Rising.
“I’ve seen a couple different interviews with celebrities,” Bendele said. “And I noticed that not one event was happening within a 100-mile radius of Grand Junction.”
Although there is no 1 Billion Rising group located in the Grand Valley, Bendele and the other organizers contacted various groups around the community. The organizers chose CMU to host this year’s event because, according to Bendele, there are not a lot of activist events on campus.
One organization present at the event was the Latimer House, which provides shelter and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
“We offer services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Mesa County,” said Jennifer Allen, who is involved with Latimer House. “We offer support to men, women and kids. We are one of the few shelters who offer services to men.”
According to Allen, the support groups are open to anyone in Mesa County, not just those who are staying in the shelters. Counseling services are also offered to those as a walk-in or by appointment, and the Latimer House also provides a 24-hour crisis line on which victims can call and talk to someone.
As a non-profit organization, The Latimer House functions a lot by donations.
“We accept donations of new or gently used clothing for men, women and kids,” Allen said.
The Latimer house also accepts donations of new products such as shampoo, toothpaste and lotion. Due to the fact that victims have a very short window to get out of an abusive situation, most show up to shelter with the bare necessities.
“Some of the victims only come with one bag,” Allen said. “If they had kids, they put their kids first.”
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