About

MonaLou Callery - Founder of the National Advocacy & Training Network

Welcome to our podium. HearHer.org is one of the first blogs to give voice and influence to the beaten, abused, hushed and hidden women of domestic violence.

“These brilliant and beautiful survivors share their remarkable stories to help us better understand what it takes to rise above the abuse and create a new life for themselves and their innocent children.”

HearHer.org will take you on journeys of personal carnage. You’ll learn about survival in the bleakest of circumstances. What it takes to muster the courage and ability to leave. You’ll travel their lonely path to seeking help, and the frustration at the hands of the bureaucratic social and criminal justice system. They will share with you their sense of accomplishment with hard-earned hope and confidence, and their emergence as a positive and productive force.

I, too, am a survivor. And I am extraordinarily proud of the brave authors of HearHer.org. I know what they’ve been through. They are the women of SEEDs (Support, Education, Empowerment & Directions), a project of the National Advocacy & Training Network (NATN), which was started in 2002 to educate others about domestic violence. NATN is a supportive housing program that serves homeless, battered and sexually abused women who are recovering to self-sufficiency.

Through the Marilyn House in Mesa and the Diane House in Chandler, Arizona, NATN provides intensive support services to women and their children for up to 24 months. These homes offer survivors a bridge from crisis to permanent independent living. Women in this transition receive the benefit of a long-term support system to help them overcome barriers and realize personal goals. The homes are designed to reflect real life, providing a near-independent living setting with access to healthcare, educational opportunities, job and life skills training, and a supportive atmosphere that fosters self-esteem, self-direction and dignity.

NATN is about more than just safe housing. It’s an Arizona-based, non-profit prevention program that provides a network of advocacy trainers in areas of criminal justice, victim and social services, healthcare, education and religion. We also provide job-training skills through our Cup O-Karma Café in Mesa, AZ. Here, women learn to become economically self-sufficient while experiencing what it takes to own and run a business.

The most important lesson I’ve learned through my work with these inspiring women is that the most fulfilling investments we can make in life are those we make in other people. It costs approximately $10,000 ($29 per bed, per day) for six months of housing and training to help a victim of domestic violence become a survivor. Please consider the difference your gift can make to the lives of these women, their children and everyone they will touch.

To learn more, visit our website at www.natn-az.com.