We Hear You

In today’s episode, the host of the We Hear You Podcast, and the executive director of Harambe Social Services, takes the hot seat. Rose Williams opens up about her life story in the hope that it will offer hope and comfort to anyone listening who is being subjected to domestic abuse. Domestic violence is a pandemic, as much as COVID-19 is, and for various reasons the latter is exacerbating the horrors of the former, making the ins...

Kelly Thomas has experienced abuse throughout her life; in her family while she was growing up, in her first marriage while she was pregnant, and in her second marriage when she had two young children. Although she felt like she did as much as she could to shield her son and daughter from the abuse that she was being subjected to, she now realizes that they were aware of much more than she knew. Kelly shares the guilt that she feel...

Domestic violence is an epidemic which impacts people of all races, ages, genders and classes. Our society too often puts the onus on the victim to fix their situation by leaving their batterer. However, the reality is that this will not solve the problem of domestic violence; the perpetrators are the ones who need to be held accountable for their actions, otherwise they will abuse whomever they are in a relationship with. In today...

Culturally broad and inaccurate approaches to community services and institutions have been clearly shown to be ineffectual and misplaced. When addressing societal issues such as sexual assault and domestic violence, a more highly attuned and relatable framework is needed by organizations in order to truly connect and help the people that need it. Here on the show today to talk about the institutional racism that is still so preval...

Historically marginalized communities don’t always have the same access to domestic violence support organizations. Unfortunately, this lack of access has been made worse by the COVID pandemic. Today we speak with Adrienne Simpkins, the Director of Outreach and Capacity Building at the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence. Our conversation dives deeply into issues around access and the impact that COVID has had on survivor...

Sexual assault encompasses a wide range of violent or degrading acts, and it’s not just the
boogeyman in the alley that is the perpetrator. It can be someone you know, it can be someone you’re dating and, because of misinformation and coercion, there are often blurred lines. Today’s guest is Daunielle Munir, who works with the Center for Family Services in New Jersey, where she is the Program Coordinator of the sexual assault p...

Men have a vital role to play as anti-domestic violence advocates, and engaging with men
remains an important component of the movement to end violence against women. Today’s
guest is Reverend Frank Morris, an ordained Baptist Minister and a well-known Pastor of
Biblical Counseling at Ocean Avenue Baptist Church in Jersey City. He has spent the majority of his career doing whatever it takes to immerse himself in the sub...

When people leave their abusive environments, they’re often too busy surviving to process their trauma. Today we speak with Tamu Lane, CEO of Healing Wounds, about restorative healing — a process of learning self-love, and self-forgiveness. After sharing her story and introducing the concept of restorative healing, we dive into the challenges that arise from not processing your trauma. As Tamu explains, survivors can pick up negati...

People put up with abusive relationships for years, sometimes not seeing them as such despite the red flags. Today’s guest is Kelly Thomas and she joins us to help us learn more about how to spot the signs that a relationship is becoming destructive. Kelly is a survivor and the Founder and CEO of Girls Like You, a nonprofit that helps coach young kids who are in trouble and focuses on building self-confidence. We hear about how Kel...

While it may not be a comfortable topic, domestic violence (DV) is a lot more common than you might think, both in the United States and around the world, and services that provide safety, support, and compassion for victims are crucial. Today’s guest is Marsetta Lee, Esq, who is the President of the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey. She is an Adjunct Professor at Wilmington University, where she teaches various cou...

The history of violence against Black women in America leads all the way back to forced arrivals and the slave trade. From these terrible beginnings, we see the clear links between white supremacy, institutional racism, gender inequality, and the constant failure of law enforcement. Here on the show today to unpack the subject and share her experiences working to support survivors of domestic violence and abuse is the one and only ...

The discussion around sexual assault has many intersectional components and one of the most important is the impact of race. Joining us to talk about the way that the issues of race and sexual assault are related and most notably the results of this relationship, is the wonderful My'Lasia Brown! My'Lasia gives us some background to her work with Harambe, looking at her academic qualifications and the types of cases she ha...

Due to a series of historic and social factors, the African-American community has a high incidence of domestic violence, a situation that is exacerbated by the oppressive systems that have drawn global attention over the last few months. There are many reasons why African-American women are three times more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner, not least of which their tendency not to report incidents for fear of subjectin...

Domestic abuse has many ugly faces, and the array of strategies for tackling and preventing these issues are all worth pursuing. Here on the show today to talk about her experiences of domestic abuse, working in the field with survivors, and areas that could do with more attention, is Cristina Cordoba. We hear from Cristina about her background and how her work in marketing and communications was applicable to finding a meaningful ...