One family’s mission to bring awareness to domestic violence
BIG SPRING, Texas (KOSA) - October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The National Domestic Violence Hotline says more than 12 million men and women are victims of physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner every year.
Tonya Allen died because of a domestic violence incident, leaving behind three children. Now 18 years after she died, the Allen family is still hurting.
Eric Tuttle is married to Tonya’s sister and now tells her story to his football players and girls’ basketball players.
Eric never knew Tonya, but he feels the importance of her story just the same.
The National Domestic Violence hotline says almost half of all men and women in the U.S. have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
People who hurt a partner through domestic violence hurt more than just the one person.
And they are hurting for life…
As a coach on the Big Spring football team, Eric Tuttle wants his players to know how serious of an issue domestic violence is.
Every October he tells Tonya’s story to his players and the team wears purple for domestic violence awareness.
Over 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the US have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
The family’s goal in telling Tonya’s story is to help one person out of a bad situation. If they can do that, then they feel they’ve made a difference, whether that is getting the victim out or stopping the abuser before it starts.
If you are thinking about taking out your anger on your partner or if you are a victim of domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). For further resources, visit their website at https://www.thehotline.org/
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