Futures Blog

February 8th, 2023 by Tiffany Garner, Policy Advocate, Children and Health

When I worked as a counselor for children exposed to violence in my home state of North Carolina, there’s one phrase I heard again and again: “this is the way it is.”

It was at a time when young people were becoming accustomed to hearing gunshots, listening to news reports of shootings in their city, and seeing guns within their homes and were accepting this behavior as if it was the norm.

Unfortunately for victims of gun violence, that refrain is all too familiar. Gun violence may affect everyone differently, but child after child who I met said they were “feeling numb” to the violence they witnessed. In many ways they were taking their cues from the adults in their lives, from all of us, who seemingly have grown accustomed to the unacceptable gun violence all around us.…

January 18th, 2023 by Esta Soler

This week, we honor the life of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., who made achieving economic justice a cornerstone of his calls to advance racial justice.

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Dr. King conceived of economic justice as “decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, [and] conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community.” He reminded us that you cannot achieve true equality without making economic opportunity available to all, including those traditionally locked out of the country’s prosperity.

At Futures Without Violence, economic justice has long been at the center of our work. We believe it’s not only the right thing to do, but is critical to achieve our vision of a world without violence.…

November 4th, 2022 by Esta Soler, President,
Futures Without Violence

News reports on the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are rightly pointing to the incident as yet another consequence of the rising tide of hate-fueled political speech from the far right.

But these stories largely miss the big “M” in the room. Misogyny.

The attacker’s goal was to kidnap and assault Speaker Pelosi, to make an example of her in her role as a powerful woman. In this way, he was following up on the intentions of the January 6 insurrectionists, who specifically targeted Speaker Pelosi and defiled her office when they broke into the Capitol building.

At Futures Without Violence, we have long known that violence against women is linked to many other forms of violence. Mass shooters, primarily male, more often than not have histories of domestic violence. Both the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League have lifted up “…

October 28th, 2022 by Claire Kao, Communications and Advocacy Coordinator

Domestic Violence Awareness Month, observed each October, brings a renewed sense of urgency for those of us working to support women and all people affected by relationship abuse. 

This is especially true this year, as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A new analysis by the Council for Criminal Justice reports that domestic violence increased more than 8% following the pandemic lock-downs of 2020, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline is receiving two to three times as many requests for help as before the pandemic. This “shadow pandemic” meant women were increasingly unsafe at home – and the many impacts of COVID on housing, jobs, transportation and child care meant it was harder than ever to leave. …