Raising Gentle’men advocates attend national conference

The Shelter’s Raising Gentle’men advocates Mackindy Dieu and Sergio Lopez recently attended the National Conference, “A Call to Men, the Next Generation of Manhood: Sports Culture Advancing its Role on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention” in Charlotte N.C.

The conference attracted over 300 domestic violence advocates from throughout the country. The sports focus covered sesssion topics highlighting speakers from national sports leagues including the NFL, NHL and NBA.

“Overall it was a great experience with a lot of take home ideas we hope to incorporate into our program,” said Mackindy.

While at the conference, Mackindy received a phone call from a man who is a board member of a shelter in North Carolina. The man was interested in starting a GADV program at his local shelter.

“I asked him if he was at the conference and when he said, ‘yes,’ we were able to connect while we were there,” Mackindy said. “We provided them with our curriculum and once they get set up, they are interested in having me go there to help train their advocates.”

Sergio echoed Mackindy’s comments on the conference.

“It was especially moving to hear the stories shared by survivors,” he said. “The experience gave us some new ideas that will definitely help us improve our program for those we teach.”