By: Crystallee Crain I’m concerned about the invisibility of preventable hardship that occurs when we embody the status quo as a comfort. While the term — preventable hardship — is not widely known it is easy to comprehend. Some personal difficulties can be prevented through social and cultural change. …

Our Political Responsibility for Human Rights in the Philippines This past week, the U.S. State Department approved an arms sale to the Philippines worth 2.5 billion U.S. dollars. The approval comes at a time when community organizations and legislators alike are calling to account for military aid to the Philippines. …

Within the United States, social patterns of interpersonal and institutional violence are unfortunate realities. Like any disease, violence permeates communities internally and externally. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) are often ignored or unnoticed when discussing the need for prevention activities and community education. Some speculate that the low radar…

The world is ever-changing. Our lives are complex and beautiful compilations of choices mostly based on access and knowledge. All of which are socially defined. The push and pull factors that people are facing on a day-to-day basis are increasingly toxic. Literally and figuratively. Whether it’s a public health crisis…

How to Protect Yourself and Your Community Against Violent Abusers Survivors know all too well that their abusers hide in plain sight. We hope we notice them before they see us walking through town. We hope we’re not alone when they do see us or find us. We hope that you, anyone out there, believe us. The lack of accountability…

Thoughts on Personal & Political Agency Written by: Crystallee Crain Politics is about the distribution of resources. Resources as in products and in some aspects of our society — people can be bought or sold. We forget that resources are also processes for knowledge creation and our ever-changing political agency. Behind the veil of our everyday…

To begin I will say, that the way we were was never enough. We failed each other. We failed ourselves — and then, without any warning, we learned that perhaps we did not. Melancholy moments don’t define all of time. They are placed on our path to be learned from…

While we address our personal and social circumstances to COVID-19, as a violence prevention advocate I believe it’s important to take notice to the unique health consequences for survivors of violence. There is never a wrong time to discuss the critical health concerns for survivors of violence. Survivors have unique health challenges and they often have to heal from multiple forms of consequences from the harm they have experienced. …

While we have nearly a 1/3rd of the planet on shelter in place orders, we are all struggling to figure out what’s going to happen next. In these uncertain times it’s important to see the ways in which the human condition surprises and reminds us about the wonderful ways we…