Domestic Violence Training Group

10/12/2026

The 6th Annual Purple Box Project is underway💜
Every box makes a difference✨

The Caddo Parish District Attorney’s office is conducting its 6th Annual Purple Box Project, a community initiative to provide essential supplies and comfort to survivors of domestic violence and their families.

10/11/2026

You just never know.

I spent most of today at churches talking about domestic violence. After a full day of conversations about domestic violence awareness, I changed clothes, headed out for a meal, and thought my DV work for the day was done.

But you just never know.

We were finishing our meal at El Cabo Verde when Angelo, our server, mentioned that he’d recently seen a video of me speaking about domestic violence.

What followed was one of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had all day.

Angelo began asking questions. What happens to people who commit domestic violence? What are the penalties? Is there help available for those who abuse others? What can we do to stop the cycle?

And then he began sharing his own observations about power, control, trauma, and why some people feel the need to dominate and hurt others.

I was struck not only by Angelo’s questions, but by his thoughtfulness. Here was a young man, in the middle of his workday, genuinely interested in understanding domestic violence and what it takes to address it.

I told Angelo something I believe deeply: His voice in this conversation may reach men in ways that mine never will.

We need men’s voices in the fight against domestic violence. We need men who are willing to ask questions, speak up, and help other men understand that abuse is never acceptable.

And today reminded me of something else: You never know how far the work reaches.

You never know who’s listening, who’s learning, or who’s becoming part of the solution.

Thank you, Angelo, for your curiosity and compassion.

My friends . . . Keep doing the work. Keep having the conversations. Keep planting the seeds.

Because you just never know. 💜

10/10/2026

Churches play a powerful in addressing domestic violence. 💜

Our faith communities are uniquely positioned to offer hope, support, resources, and a safe place for those impacted by domestic violence. When churches answer the call to help, they make a meaningful difference in the lives of families.

We are grateful for the churches and faith leaders who recognize this responsibility and stand alongside us in this important work.

Tomorrow, I look forward to joining Greater Pleasant Grove Baptist Church for a conversation about domestic violence, its impact on families and communities, and how we can all be part of the solution.

Join us in person or tune in on Facebook Live!

📅 Sunday, October 11 | 11:30 AM
📍 Greater Pleasant Grove Baptist Church
1500 Grigsby Street | Shreveport, LA

Awareness matters. Understanding matters. And what we do with that understanding can change lives. 💜

10/05/2026

How many times have you heard about a domestic violence tragedy and thought: “Wow. I wish there was something I could do.”

Today, you can. 💜

We are launching our 6th Annual Purple Box Project, and this is one of the simplest ways you can make a real difference for survivors of domestic violence and their children.

Grab a box, bin, basket—whatever you have—and fill it with items that can help a family as they begin again. Make it fancy. Decorate it purple. Keep it simple. None of that matters nearly as much as what’s inside and the love behind it.

One box may seem small.

But to someone starting over, it can say:

You are seen.
You are supported.
You are not starting over alone.

6 years of Purple Boxes. 6 years of our community showing up.

Let’s go! 💜📦

All the details on how to participate are in the post below. 👇🏾

💜 The 6th Annual Purple Box Project Is Here!

For six years, the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office has invited our community to help us support domestic violence survivors and their children through the Purple Box Project.

The idea is simple: Grab a box, bin, basket, or container and fill it with everyday essentials that can make a real difference for a survivor starting over.

Your Purple Box doesn’t have to be fancy. Some businesses, churches, offices, families, and organizations love decorating their boxes in purple and making a project out of it—and we love seeing their creativity! But decoration isn’t required. It’s what’s inside the box that matters.

💜 HOW TO PARTICIPATE
• Collection Dates: October 1 – November 16, 2026
• Grab a container: Use a box, plastic bin, basket, or whatever you have.
• Fill it: We’re collecting hygiene products, hair care items, soap, deodorant, diapers, blankets, wipes, and other new personal-care essentials.
• Bring it to us: Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office, 525 Marshall Street, Shreveport, Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Need us to pick it up? We can arrange that, too! Contact us at 318-588-0084 to coordinate a pickup.

Invite your coworkers😀Get your church involved🙌Challenge another department🏆Make it a family project💜Fill one box or fill 10!

Every item collected helps survivors and families in our community.

🎯Grab a box. Fill it with care. Help us keep going until every survivor is safe. 💜

10/04/2026

Some lights shine on forever✨

10/03/2026

How do you build a fence strong enough to stop an elephant?
💜🐘🐝💜
Back in 2007, farmers in Kenya, desperately needed to answer that question. Because elephants were eating most of their crops and trampling the rest.

One day, the farmers remembered something important: elephants are afraid of bees. Bees can sting them in some of their most sensitive places—around their eyes, mouths and especially inside their trunks.

So instead of trying to build a fence physically strong enough to stop a five-ton elephant, the farmers started stringing beehives along the fences. When an elephant disturbed the fence, the hives moved, the bees swarmed out and the elephants ran away.

More than 10,000 pounds turned around by something small enough to rest on the tip of your finger.

And that became the heart of my message today.

Domestic violence is an elephant. It destroys families. It traumatizes children. It threatens our entire village.

We have some fences—laws, shelters, protective orders, hotlines, intervention programs.

But those fences don’t work without the bees.

At today’s Petrina’s Purple Passion Scholarship Luncheon, there were bees everywhere—advocates, survivors, first responders, prosecutors…all doing the work and signing up for more.

The bees vs the elephant teaches this: You don’t have to be as big as the problem to change its direction.

A bee can stop an elephant.
And a hive can protect a village.

09/26/2026

💜

08/31/2026

The first domestic violence case I ever tried changed everything.

I was a 3rd-year law student working as an intern prosecutor in Fort Lauderdale. I was allowed to try cases, under the supervision of a senior lawyer. The time came for my first trial—it was a domestic violence case. I was excited and ready!

The evidence was overwhelming.

A man had taken his intimate partner into the middle of the street, stripped her naked, and beaten her in front of a crowd of neighbors. All of this in broad open daylight.

In trial day, the victim was in the courtroom. So were the police officers.

We had pictures of the bruises, the scrapes and the tears.

I called the victim to the witness stand and began asking questions.

She agreed to one thing and one thing only: her name. Everything else, she denied.

Toward the end of my questioning, she held up her hand and said: “Listen, I love him. We’re getting married.”

And then she blew him a kiss from the witness stand.

The bruises. The cuts. The humiliation of being stripped and beaten in the street while people watched. The testimony of the officer . . .

None of it was enough.

I listened in disbelief to the verdict: Not Guilty.

I left the courtroom that day, went to the parking garage, sat in my car and just cried. I cried because I didn’t understand.

20 years later, I understand much more than I did as a young intern.

I understand the fear. The attachment. The manipulation. The financial dependence. The hope that things will change. The complicated reasons survivors stay, leave, return, recant, minimize, or sometimes protect the very person who has hurt them.

But something else happened that day in the parking garage.

A fire was lit. And all these years later, it still burns.

It’s the fire that keeps me climbing the steep hill of confronting domestic violence. It’s the fire that says: when we can’t fix everything, we can still do some good along the climb.

On Friday, October 2, I’ll have the privilege of speaking at Petrina’s Purple Passion’s Domestic Violence Awareness Luncheon.

Please join us in the climb. Because we still have a good piece to go. 💜

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/annual-luncheon-8

For tickets or donations, please use the link above. Thank you✨

Join us for the 3rd Annual Petrina’s Purple Passion event, a meaningful gathering dedicated to raising awareness, celebrating resilience, and strengthening…