Act Risk No More, Jenna Pinegar, Angela Kelly and Kim Murphey!! Still Event tomorrow in Provo at the Covey ARTS Center, 7:00 pm.

I'm so excited for tomorrow night!  The crowd of domestic violence/sexual assault survivors is growing as we can clearly see from events over the past week with Harvey Weinstein/Hollywood.  I've never really made distinctions between domestic violence and sexual assault/abuse because both are interpersonal and involve a violation of your intimate surroundings/relationships.  Both are violence against your soul and can take years (sometimes a lifetime and sometimes never) to recover from.  Both are a manipulation of power and strip lifeforce from its victims.
So you can see the issues we face are very serious and the numbers are so so high, even here in Utah and even in Utah County. (we are higher than the national average)

I've been fortunate to be in the company of the most talented and capable humans/advocates offered by the state of Utah where these issues are concerned.  If not for the following people and performers/speakers for tomorrow evening, I would not have made it through the past four years.  I left Utah almost five years ago with my kids and planned to never never come back.  God's provision of good people to help me and my family heal since returning to Utah has been a revelation to me about the undeniable capacity of Utah's residents to pick each other up from the rubble and create a thriving recovery community.  The talent here is unbelievable and there is a constant supply of goodness that flows through our state---four of which are highlighted below!!

PLEASE JOIN US!! Let's turn the statistics around and be proud of our community!

Heidi Mendez Harrison is the creative director and founder for Act Risk No More.  The group of actors perform the poetry and writings from Heidi's book, Behind These Walls.  Behind These Walls is the truth about abuse that occurs and has been occurring for decades.  Heidi fearlessly challenges the stereotyping of those trapped in abuse, addiction and mental illness by giving them a voice.  The result is breathtaking for audiences who are able to experience the emotion that so often gets buried in our homes and relationships. Heidi is an adjunct professor at UVU and is a theater pro who performs in theater productions all over the state--her acting is incredible.  I love Heidi and she is a hero in our community!

Kim Murphy is my advocate and friend.  She was part of a life saving duo of women who kept me moving forward during my stay at the Center for Women and Children in Crisis in Provo (she was my social worker and housing coordinator).  Kim's intellect and wit was like medicine in my mind, which felt like it had been ravaged and stripped down to nothing when we met.  Kim's background and her willingness to be open with her own past and experiences filled me and revived me.  She will speak on empathy and is honestly the embodiment of that, so don't miss it!

Jenna-bear.  I love this girl.  We also met at the Womens Center--she was a staff member who cut my hair once....and sang.  Her voice got me back up on my feet, musically speaking.  Jenna was gracious enough to sing with me every Sunday during my stay at the shelter.  The more sang/played music, the better I started to feel and no joke--was out of the shelter environment within 6 weeks from connecting with her.
Jenna will sing, Sick Like That--a song I wrote about domestic violence during my therapy in Los Angeles.  Jenna will also share some of her successes over the past year, to name a few--STARTING A YOGA STUDIO and STARTING A BARBER SHOP in PARK CITY!!  Watch KSL's clip on her below!!



JENNA ON KSL!!

Angela Kelly is going to be leading our community talk back after the performance on Friday and I can't think of anyone better to do it!  Angela and I met over a year and 1/2 ago when I quit one of her events because I was going through a quitting streak and I quit everything I could get my hands on.  So I was really amazed when she reached out to me later on, wiling to talk and share some of her life with me.  Angela's community activism is an absolute inspiration to me---she Ambassador at Human Trafficking And Child Exploitation Prevention Act and Event Chairman for awareness and fundraising events at Time to Rescue.  Angela has invited me to be part of her recorded events highlighting sexual abuse/trafficking in Utah County this past year and continues to be active in recovery communities!! Thank you Angela!!



We love you Utah County:))  See you tomorrow night~~Rachelle

Still. Domestic Violence Awareness in Utah County with featured speaker, Heather Smith Woolsey

This month of October has been so rewarding for me personally.  I've been so grateful to the many musicians, performers, advocates and speakers who are donating their personal time and talents to bring Domestic Violence into the light of personal, relational and community awareness. 

One of our featured speakers is Heather Smith Woolsey.  She is a leading advocate in Utah for domestic violence victims and she is also a survivor.  Heather came onto my radar about a year ago while I still lived in Utah County.  We went to lunch recently and I told her I was "just a little bit triggered" when I watched her speak.  Heather is very open and expressive about what domestic violence does to individuals and families.  She gives details and she cries over the pain in public.  She expresses her anger and she is unapologetic for all of it.  I, on the other hand, am still timid about what I've gone through I think or maybe I'm still sorting through the past 8 crazy years of my life.  Either way, I'm still more silent than I want to be.  Heather has taught me the value of expressing my life for what it is without the fear of judgement or condemnation.  Heather also comes from my faith tradition and I see how our shared religious background manifests in how we responded to our circumstances, which is strangely comforting.  Heather is faith in action and her efforts to help victims of domestic violence will be felt for many generations in Utah County.  Do yourself a huge favor and come listen to a bit of her story this Friday at 7:00 in Provo (Covey Center for Perf Arts)!!

This is Heather:)

And here is a portion of her story highlighted on KSL!

I love her!!!!  Thank you so much!

WATCH:Heather Woolsey on KSL!

Still. Domestic Violence Awareness in Utah County featuring Kara Lyn Roundy & Cathy Butler

**We all are affected by houses haunted with domestic violence, whether it be in our own home, a neighboring home, or in the home of someone we care about.  Please thoughtfully consider who you would like to bring with you who can benefit from greater awareness and enlightenment.

I want to highlight our performers for the Still event in Utah County throughout this week.  I'll start with the two women who inspired me to get back into the music scene, Kara Lyn Roundy and Cathy Butler.  I have had the privilege of spending time with them over the past couple months and it has been life changing to say the least.  They are both lending their talents to this cause because they love people and want to inspire goodness in our families and communities.  

Kara Lyn Roundy is a pianist, singer, comedian, celebrity impersonator, voice-over artist, piano performance teacher, producer, writer and speaker! She has been performing clean entertainment professionally since she was 10 for audiences of all ages and venues with international acclaim, ranging from corporate and nonprofit events, including Operation Underground Railroad and many others. She has performed heavily throughout NY and Southern CA, and in other western states. Highlights include: Chile, Russia, Madison Square Garden, The Roxy, China Club, Times Square, Off-Off Broadway, Carnegie Hall, Telemundo, TMZ, Hollywood, Capitol Theater, radio stations, the military, prisons and the vets! She was also accompanist for the Music Theater and Ballet Depts at The University of UT, Waterford School, and is in demand with numerous musicians for performances and in studio. She loves helping others heal through music and her fun motivational entertainment, specifically at darling senior centers throughout UT. She serves heavily throughout the church and is also currently launching her own talk show!

CATHY BUTLER

For the past 15 years Cathy has enjoyed playing for hundreds of weddings along the Wasatch Front, as 1^st Violinist in her string quartet, Strings of Elegance.  As a professional Suzuki Violin Instructor, she is currently an Advanced Active Suzuki Violin Teacher with The Suzuki Association of Utah. She maintains a violin studio of approximately 30 students.  She has performed with the New American Philharmonic and toured China as a guest performer with the Weber State University Orchestra.  While on orchestral scholarship, she earned her associates degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from Utah State University.  She now spends time practicing with her two young boys who are being “nurtured by love” with the same Suzuki musical influence she was introduced to at the age of 5.

STILL--Domestic Violence Awareness in Utah County Oct. 27 @ 7:00 : Covey Center, Provo

I'm so excited to get to perform with some amazing talent and speakers for our upcoming Domestic Violence Awareness in Utah County!  I will highlight our talent over the next couple weeks along with sharing survivor stories.  It is no small thing to survive and thrive through domestic violence--in fact, it can mostly feel impossible.  It is critical to lean on healthy support systems for recovery but domestic violence often breeds more domestic violence---so where do we start? We start by educating.   Please share this promo with your friends so we can keep the conversation moving forward!

The name of this event is STILL.  My friend Jenna Pinegar and I initiated an annual DV Awareness event two years ago.  I met Jenna when I was a resident at the Center for Women and Children in Crisis in Provo.  Jenna was a staff member and we connected through our shared love of music.
Here's us: :)

The word STILL will be an acronym for strategies to survive DV:  S--safety  T--trust  I--insprie  L--listen L--live.  The chandelier represents value and light.  It's also one of the best songs ever written by Sia about shame, which for me has been the ultimate barrier to my own success. 

Here's Charlie Pluth with a cover:

More details to come---please come join us!!