The Texas Department of Public Safety reports that there were 188,992 domestic violence incidents in Texas last year. These incidents lead to 26,528 children and adults having to be sheltered. Also, there were possibly many more cases that went unreported. Luckily, some leaders in the Dallas community are aiming to curb these numbers by implementing awareness programs that involve young people.
One project started by an Adamson High School football coach began as a simple request. He asked coaches and players from all over Texas to simply take a stand in the fight against domestic violence. The coach emailed friends and colleagues all across the state, requesting that players fill out a pledge. He also requested that the players take a picture of themselves holding the pledges and then send the photos back to him. The pledges were to indicate a specific reason why each person wanted to help end domestic violence.
The coach only expected a handful of responses, but after a short time, he ended up with around 300 replies just from the Dallas area. As word spread on Twitter, the coach started getting pledge photos from players at institutions as far-reaching as New Mexico, Oklahoma State University and the U.S. Naval Academy.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings’ similar calls to action served as the coach’s inspiration. After the coach’s success at Adamson, the mayor asked other high schools in Dallas to submit pledges as well. Adamson High School still beat out all the other Dallas schools in the competition, ending with a pledge total of 8,200. The high school football team will be rewarded with a football game in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
One of the high school football players stated that he’s known people affected by domestic violence, and he has witnessed the heartbreak and turmoil that it creates. It would be helpful for this program to continue by helping people to know exactly what to do if confronted with domestic violence. For now, however, anything that can prevent further domestic abuse in Texas is honorable.
Source: dallasnews.com, “Adamson athletes take a stand against domestic violence” Loyd Brumfield, Dec. 06, 2013
