RADV Article: I Am Still Here Standing
“I didn’t know how strong I could be until I started healing from the trauma of domestic violence.” Strength did not arrive all at once. It came slowly—through every painful memory I faced, every lie I stopped believing and every piece of myself I fought to reclaim. I survived the beating. I survived the belittling. […]
RADV Article: You Can’t Start the Next Chapter of Your Life If You Keep Re-Reading the Last One
There are chapters of our lives we never wanted to live through. Chapters filled with fear, betrayal, manipulation, violence, and loss. Chapters that changed how we see ourselves, how we trust others, and how safe the world feels. After abuse, it is natural to keep returning to those pages. We replay conversations, searching for the […]
RADV Presents: The Ripple Effect
Changing Tomorrow by Investing in Today Series #11: Teach Them That “No” Is a Complete Sentence We teach children to say please. We teach them to say thank you. We teach them to share, be polite, and respect others. But there is another word we need to teach them to use without shame: No. No, […]
RADV Article: When Money Becomes a Weapon — Understanding Financial Abuse
Financial abuse does not always look like someone stealing money from your wallet. Sometimes it looks like having to explain every purchase. It can mean being denied access to bank accounts, prevented from working, forced to surrender a paycheck, or deliberately left with bills and debt you never agreed to. It can sound like: “You […]
What Was Meant to Break Me Became My Purpose
There are things in life that you never imagine surviving. Things that change the way you see yourself. Things that steal pieces of your confidence, your trust, your security, and sometimes even your hope. Abuse can do that. It can leave you wondering how the person you once were disappeared. It can make you look […]
RADV Presents: From the Archives
Before the polished graphics. Before the new logos. Before RADV became what it is today… there was this. I came across another piece of early RADV history. Looking at it now, I can see plenty of things we would design differently today. Our branding has changed. Our message has grown. We’ve learned a lot along […]
RADV Article: HOPE — The Other Four-Letter Word
By Dave Beatty | Riders Against Domestic Violence There are some four-letter words we use when life hurts. Words we say when we are angry. Frustrated. Scared. Exhausted. But there is another four-letter word that deserves a place in a survivor’s vocabulary. HOPE. And sometimes, hope is one of the hardest words to believe in. […]
RADV Article: You Didn’t Break Because You Were Weak
There is a difference between being weak and being wounded. Survivors need to hear that difference. When someone lives under enough pressure for long enough—fear, intimidation, humiliation, manipulation, isolation, threats, control, or physical violence—eventually something inside them reacts. Maybe they become anxious. Maybe they stop trusting people. Maybe they shut down during conflict. Maybe they […]
RADV Article: Why Are We Always Telling Survivors What THEY Need to Do?
When we talk about domestic violence, listen closely to where the conversation often goes. We tell survivors: Leave. Make a safety plan. Watch for the warning signs. Document everything. Protect your phone. Change your passwords. Find somewhere safe. Get a protective order. Don’t go back. Don’t answer the messages. Don’t meet them alone. All of […]
RADV Article: Keep Moving — Not Every Obstacle Deserves Your Energy
There comes a point in healing when you realize something important: You don’t have to fight everything in your path. For a long time, survival may have taught you otherwise. You learned to defend yourself.Explain yourself.Prove yourself.Anticipate the next argument.Prepare for the next accusation.Fight to be heard.Fight to be believed. Sometimes you became so accustomed […]