Harmony House kicks off annual iCare campaign

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The largest domestic violence shelter in the state is kicking off its 10th annual fundraising and awareness campaign. Harmony House hosted its breakfast event Thursday, kicking off the iCare campaign.

The iCare campaign takes place during October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It encourages businesses and individuals to raise money for Harmony House and awareness of domestic violence.

Businesses and individuals receive iCare kits that include posters to hang in public spaces with the Harmony House hotline number and signs of domestic violence in relationships to look out for.

“You never know where somebody is going to come across these signs, or that hotline number and say, you know, today’s the day,” Jared Alexander, Executive Director of Harmony House said. “I need to step up and do something or I need to call for help.”

Oct. 25 will be iCare Day, when those participating will wear iCare buttons as a conversation starter for people to “Ask me why I care.”

Harmony House says they continue to see an increase in calls on their hotline, but domestic violence is still considered a taboo topic. The iCare campaign works to change that.

Alexander says they could help as many survivors as they do without the help of their community partners and the funds they raise during iCare.

Dee Sova is a domestic abuse survivor and works for one of the businesses participating in iCare. Her story started when she was a child and her father was abusing her mother. She and her siblings would run from their home to find help with their extended family.

“We didn’t have shelters,” Sova said. “We had our church. We had hiding in families closet. I just remember this so vividly.”

Later in life, Sova was a victim herself.

“I promised myself I would never be in that situation, and then I got married to my children’s father, who was later addicted to drugs,” Sova said. “And so he started physically abusing me. And so I had to get out of that situation. So this cause, Harmony house is so personal to me. I just want to give back in any way that I can.”

Sova says she and her four kids were able to seek help from a shelter, and she encourages others to do the same.

“To all the women, it is going to get better, but you have to make the choice,” Sova said. “It took me two years to leave my children’s father. It was two years of planning, two years of knowing that life was going to get better if we just got out of this situation.”

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