Domestic violence is a pervasive and insidious problem in American society, with one in four women experiencing physical violence and roughly four million women battered each year.  On a local level, those numbers are equally distressing. A study conducted by the National Census of Domestic Violence Services found that in one 24-hour period on September 15, 2011, 866 victims came seeking help statewide.

Hope Starts Here

Hurricane Matthew crossed the Western portion of Haiti on October 4 and portions of Eastern Cuba that afternoon. It was the first category 4 storm to make landfall in Haiti since 1964. According to the Haitian government, the death count associated with the storm is more than 1,000. The hurricane destroyed homes, displaced thousands of people, ruined plantations, and drowned livestock.

Today, 51% of students in U.S. public schools—over 25 Million children—live in poverty. Many of the impacts of poverty—like access to healthy foods, school attendance, and stability at home—are immediate and stretch across generations. Only 9% of students from low­-income families earn a bachelor’s degree, compared to 77% of their high­ income peers. And 65% of children whose parents have no more than a high school diploma go on to live in poverty.

Hurricane Matthew is devastating. According to the New York Times, Florida’s “Atlantic coast is feeling the force of the Category 3 storm, and the National Weather Service warns of ‘extremely dangerous and life-threatening’ winds. ‘Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate,’ the governor urged 1.5 million residents yesterday.” More from their reporters about the destruction in Florida, South Carolina and elsewhere can be found here.