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Nonprofit helps women escape abusive men

TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

Kimberly 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 selfworth 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 ex-husband, 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, self-worth, 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 Kimberly Miner of Mesa has created a foundation to help women working with womleave abusive relationships. (Special to the Tribune) en 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 oneself maybe for the first time (and) setting goals,” she said. “These are areas most have lost about themselves or may have never seen in themselves.”

Miner also said her foundation through its Domestic Violence Victim Focusing Training works with city government agencies, park rangers and first responders.

“In our Victim Focusing Training we focus on several areas – what the victim wants you to know and how to get their story, when you notice a ‘flipped lid’ to get the victim to connect again, and victim history to domestic violence relationship and much more,” she said. “The more tools first responders are regularly updated, the more effective as a community we can be to help in striving in making the numbers in domestic violence go down.”

Miner noted that Arizona ranked No. 5 in the country in domestic violence cases.

Since the start of 2020, an average of two Arizonans have died every week from causes directly related to domestic violence, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

This year was on track with 2020 that saw 102 people in Arizona die from domestic violence, the state agency said, adding that “nearly 22,000 people called domestic violence hotlines in Arizona to find help and options to stay safe between June 2020 and July 2021.

To learn more about the nonprofit:

envisionyouvictory.org. ■