For more than 30 years, advocates and programs all over the world have been working to eliminate family violence. Great strides have been made since the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) was founded in 1978. Service providers have helped countless women find safety, laws have been created that undoubtedly saved lives, and advocates continue to tirelessly support prevention efforts across the state.

Family violence is recognized as an important societal issue. Despite the movement’s many great advancements, there is still much work to be done before domestic violence is eliminated from our society. One of TCFV’s most significant goals is to “create opportunities for freedom from domestic violence.” In keeping with that mission and the ultimate objective of seeing an end to family violence, TCFV is hosting the Foundations of Change Summit on September 23 and 24, 2008, in Dallas, in conjunction with its annual conference.

The Summit, which follows the 2007 National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) sponsored Decade for Change Summit, will develop a 10-year blueprint for preventing violence and abuse in intimate relationships in the state of Texas. This effort will require new strategies for increasing public awareness, engaging new partners, and changing conditions that allow domestic violence to continue.

The Texas Summit is made possible through a generous $200,000 gift from the Allstate Foundation which has invited the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV), National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) and the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) to collaborate with it to plan and implement a total of four mini-summit conferences in 2008.  The Allstate Foundation endowment is a part of its own Domestic Violence Program that strives to provide an all-inclusive network of services for domestic violence survivors and providers through direct services, intellectual leadership and public awareness efforts.  In the past three years, the Allstate Foundation has granted over 45 million dollars in funding to this and other important national endeavors.  For more information on other significant Allstate Foundation domestic violence programs please go to: www.econempowerment.org.

“I personally have been working in this field now for almost 25 years, and so many others have been involved in the movement for a much longer period of time”. said Sheryl Cates, TCFV/NDVH-Chief Executive Officer. “When we began, we focused on what we had to do to save lives. Over the years, our efforts took on social support work and a more holistic approach to advocacy. My hope is that the Summit will not only recognize our past endeavors but also reinvigorate our efforts as we look at how to effectively utilize our collective energy to prevent and put an end to domestic violence in Texas.”

In 2007 NDVH received support from the Allstate Foundation to work with five state coalitions to develop their own statewide Summit. The steering committee for TCFV’s Foundations of Change Summit met this past December to begin planning the two-day event.The Summit will bring together 150 participants (100 representatives from domestic violence programs and 50 new partners) to serve on 11 panels and working committees. Much like the national summit format, the Texas panels will involve roundtable discussions representing diverse segments of society and be comprised of approximately 10 members.

Summit panels will include representatives from: Business, Criminal and Civil Justice, Domestic Violence Services, Economic Empowerment and Self-Sufficiency, Education and Research, Faith Communities, Healthcare and Mental Health Services, Media, Men’s Nonviolence, Sports and Entertainment, and Youth Services.

The steering committee will invite statewide and local community leaders to act as panelists. Each panel, except Domestic Violence Services, will have an equal number of domestic violence experts and new partners who can use their leverage to create broad change within their respective fields.

All of Texas’ local family violence programs will be invited to send a representative to participate in the Summit. The Domestic Violence Services Panel will include a greater number of panelists in order to accommodate the significant number of domestic violence advocates who will be attending.

The 11 Summit panels will meet on September 23 and 24 to identify unique new approaches and strategies that can be used by each respective sector in significantly reducing domestic violence. To guide them through this process, each panel will be given pre-determined questions to answer and provided with certified facilitators who will work with co-chairs to guide the panels’ dialogue. After the panels have shared their ideas and addressed all the issues, TCFV will produce a final report detailing the conversations and findings of each panel.

“The purpose of the Foundations of Change Summit is to take a journey of exploration”, said Cates. “I want to delve into what the world would look like if every home in Texas were safe and free from violence. What would that look like, for every person to experience respect, dignity and compassion in their homes?”