Recent Shard

Today I attended a meeting of Friends of Justice. We discussed our views of social justice. This got me thinking about the activities I have been involved in. I. teaching parenting classes Lansing MI and Houston TX In 1963 I was depressed about the Kennedy assassination. My therapist suggested I teach a parenting class. I have found that my classes turn into group therapy. I taught women recommended by CPS for neglect. Mild abuse. Mostly these women had been abused themselves II. organizing a shelter for battered women Carbondale IL in the fall of 1973 I helped organize a women's center which flowered into a battered women's shelter. It recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary. I feel proud that we help start the movement against Domestic Violence. III. research on battered women Lansing MI in 1975. I was given a grant by NOW to survey how much domestic violence was present. I came to believe that every man on earth battered his wife. IV. In 1993 I joined an AIDS support group in Arlington TX as a grief support for myself. One of my best friends, a co-author, died of AIDS in 1987. I made a panel for the AIDS quilt. I grieved today because most of the members of the support group died within months. V. Now I spend one morning a week in the Community Center at Broadway Baptist. I screen customers for Food Pantry. People can get food only every thirty days.