Break the Cycle: Revive launches ‘More than Purple’ wellness series

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Nonprofit organization Revive Community of Virginia holds its Feed the City event on the first three Saturdays of each month.

It is a safe place for people to get free food and clothes. It also offers health and financial wellness opportunities.

The event aims to address the community’s well-being.

“The first, second and third Saturday of each month. We are open from 10 a.m. to noon to feed the community. They come in and we let them walk through and shop as if they were in a store. Then, we also have our homies closet which is our clothing closet. Anybody in need, [no matter] what city they’re from, they’re able to come and get groceries and clothing if needed,” said Anita Wyche, Revive Community of Virginia Program Director.

On Oct. 19, Revive announced the kickoff program to help break the cycle of domestic violence as part of a new wellness project.

“We see people coming through, it’s a lot of different things going on… Some of them have other issues other than just needing food. So, we’re launching our wellness program! We are going to be partnering with a lot of our community nonprofits and community leaders to collaborate and bring different workshops. Whether the workshop is on domestic violence, [or] whether we have someone come in and talking about breast cancer or just doing wellness screenings and financial literacy,” said Wyche.

Through this special project, the nonprofit-organization is partnering with a domestic violence education specialist after hearing from some of their clients.

“We see is that many people — many women and children — [are dealing] with domestic violence, they are displaced. We see a lot of displaced people that come through our pantry. So with us seeing that we knew that was an initiative that we should take on. We have people that come and actually tell us ‘I was abused!’ We couldn’t just turn our backs,” said Wyche.

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Neisha Himes, a survivor of domestic abuse, who turned a painful season into a life of advocacy, will conduct the More than Purple wellness series.

“I’m starting the ‘More than Purple Domestic Violence’ series workshop, which I’m really happy to connect with Revive in doing. That’ll consist of classes happening every second Saturday of the month. We’ll all be teaching about domestic violence awareness from what the signs look like, the different forms, what the resources are. Even incorporate some boxing and physical fitness and things like that to promote that mental wellness. Then they’ll also connect with other community partners to provide other wellness workshops,” said Himes.

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The More than Purple workshops will extend well beyond October.

“Domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children. When you have food pantries or when you have clothing pantries, we have to look at the root of why they keep coming back? Why do we see the same people coming back to the same pantries? The root for a lot of people is domestic violence and not just women… it affects men too! It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you live, how much money is in your bank account. Domestic violence affects us all,” said Himes.

The wellness series will continue for several months into the new year.

“I want people to know about More than Purple. The reason I say it is because domestic violence is more than wearing a purple shirt is more than Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. People are going through it Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. This is more than awareness. This is more than just handing out pamphlets and things like that. It’s actually about empowering and changing lives and adding the love back in the community,” said Himes.

Wyche adds, “It’s throughout the year because this doesn’t just impact people in one month. This is something that’s ongoing! We at Revive want to make sure that we’re changing the culture and making sure that people are getting the service they need every month for the 12 months [in the year].”

The first ‘More than Purple’ workshop is on Nov. 19. For more information on the Wellness Matters program, call (757) 321-7720 or email info@revivecommunityva.org

Learn more about Revive Community of Virginia here .

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