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GILBERT SUN NEWS | DECEMBER 19, 2021
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Nonprofit helps women escape abusive men BY GSN NEWS STAFF
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imberly Miner has lived through two abusive marriages – the first one was 27 years ago and the second is recent. As a survivor, Miner feels she can help others experiencing domestic abuse and 10 months ago she formed the Envision You Victory Over Violence Nonprofit Foundation. “I started it because I had a passion for it,” the Mesa woman said. “It’s taken me 25 years of finding my confidence and self-worth and self-esteem and I didn’t want any survivors to go through that time frame of finding it and moving forward with their lives. “I feel I made so many mistakes and wasted half of my adult life to be able to achieve things and move forward ahead with my career. With my first exhusband, it took me three times to file for divorce before I left him.” Miner said it’s important for survivors to make the first time they leave their abusive partner the last time. “The main reason a survivor is reluctant to leave an abusive relationship comes down to lack of confidence, selfworth, and self-esteem,” Miner said. “They have had a period of time that their abuser has ‘gaslighted’ them with thoughts such as who is going to believe
you? how are you going you make it – you’re so stupid, if you try and leave I’ll kill you, or they have stripped away cars, phones (and) proximity of neighbors. “It takes years to gain back or create a survivor’s confidence and self-worth.” Miner was still dealing with the aftermath of her recent divorce. She secured an order of protection against her second husband and is in the Arizona Address Confidentiality Program, which helps victims of domestic violence, sexual offenses, and/or stalking from being located by the perpetrator through public records. The program provides a substitute address and confidential mail forwarding services to individuals and families across the state. The nonprofit’s mission statement is to provide a road map for domestic violence survivors to face, find and move forward with their confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem intact. She counts among her supporters the Mesa Prosecutor’s Office, Phoenix Community Advocates, Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office, the Scottsdale Prosecutor’s Office and the Scottsdale Police Department. Mesa Police recently teamed up with Miner’s organization because it has services to help survivors of domestic
violence, according to Shelly Ward, Victim’s Services administrator. The foundation’s programs and workshops help survivors move forward with their lives. “I have spent five and a half years working with women and survivors of domestic violence,” said Miner, who also had a career as a regional sales director in the packaging industry for almost 25 years. “Our mission is to provide a road map for survivors to face, find and move forward with their confidence and self-worth and self-esteem intact.” Miner said. “We work directly with survivors in groups but our programs were also created to be utilized in domestic violence centers, and universities or colleges.” For instance, The Envision Your Future Today Program is where survivors focus on the next five steps in moving forward after domestic violence, Miner said. “Each step requires them to take a look at sabotaging behaviors, positive attributes, purpose, ideas, loving
yellow, she traces the story in her quilt titled “From the Ashes.” “There was a lot of restoration to do,” McCurry said. “You could say from the ashes we rose and came back as strong as we could.” Stories such as this are what exhibit curator and judge Ellen M. Blalock sought when she was invited to assemble the City of Chandler’s annual art quilt show. Art Quilts XXVI: Stitching Stories, featuring
64 story quilts made by 53 artists from across the country, runs through Jan. 8 at Vision Gallery and CCA Gallery. A resident of Syracuse, New York, Blalock is passionate about story quilts. “I know that quilters work and artists work in all kinds of different ways and I wanted to be inclusive of a lot of people’s voices because not everybody does figurative work,” she noted. “What is also important to me is the
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Kimberly Miner formed her nonprofit foundation to help others experiencing domestic abuse. (Submitted)
NONPROFIT page 16
Gilbert woman part of quilt exhibition BY SRIANTHI PERERA GSN Contributor
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inda McCurry’s art quilt depicts adversity. Years ago, her Gilbert home caught fire around the chimney; the fire burnt downstairs near the fireplace and upstairs through the master bedroom. Her koi fish died in her pond due to firefighters putting a flame retardant in it. In flaming red, orange, brown and
story behind the quilt and not just a story the quilt is telling. Somebody may be having the story of why they made the quilt and or it could even be the process,” she added. Blalock herself is a narrative artist documentarian who works in photography, video, drawing and fiber. Most of her creations come in series form,
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QUILTS page 16
