By Venice Hernandez

     In the U.S. alone, over 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced domestic violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Domestic violence has victimized entire families and the well-being of so many people, yet so many cases are left unreported or completely disregarded by the justice system. Those statistics quickly became real as soon as I listened to one of my closest friends for the past 4 years talking about her experiences witnessing it in her own household and now moving from shelter to shelter with her family.
      Project DoVi, short for Project Domestic Violence, is a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to spreading awareness about domestic violence and ways to prevent the amount of people who are affected by it. After hearing about our friend’s experience, Chloe and I truly saw this as a wake-up call and knew that something had to be done. We started educating ourselves on the topic and quickly realized that domestic violence is an issue rarely touched upon in school and a word that isn’t even very well known. Simply put, domestic violence is an unhealthy pattern of behavior in any relationship, whether it intends to frighten, terrorize, manipulate, or hurt someone, in an attempt to gain power over a partner. Domestic violence can not only scar someone physically, but make them feel helpless, trapped, scared, and ultimately strain their mental health. 
     Chloe and I started Project Dovi to foster a safe space for everyone and help others find their voice as we strive to normalize this conversation. Especially at a younger age, these difficult topics are often disregarded or overlooked as something “we don’t have to worry about yet”. However, no one is truly protected by domestic violence as it can target anyone of any age, gender, religion, demographic, sexual orientation, or identity. It can also severely impact children, relatives, and anyone who does witness it in the same household. Project DoVi aims to address this manipulative cycle and ensure that people feel seen and heard in any relationship or environment that they’re in. 
       Thus far, we've been able to come such a long way with Project DoVi and we only hope to expand our outreach in the future. We’ve donated 30+ toiletry kits to the Downtown Women’s Shelter in Los Angeles, partnered with local domestic violence shelters such as Haven Hills to hold free workshops for students, and have met an entire community of advocates and survivors at tabling events. Project DoVi truly encourages students to also go out in their community and create a direct impact, while also being able to strive for personal growth and discovery. Appreciating your self-worth and esteem is also critical to setting healthy boundaries in a relationship and not tolerating disrespectful behavior, because no one deserves to experience violence in their lives.
      Looking forward, Project DoVi is working on establishing chapters worldwide because domestic violence is a public health issue that can victimize anyone at any place at any time. Being able to educate as many people as possible on signs of an unhealthy relationship and resources they can confide in before it progresses is our utmost goal. If you’re interested in helping Project DoVi expand our impact, please feel free to donate if you can, share our work on socials (@projectdovi), and reach out with any inquiries via email (projectdovi@gmail.com)!