In Memoriam: Mary Jo Roberts
Mary Jo Roberts was a survivor, a proud contributor to this site, and an ardent supporter of her fellow Violence UnSilenced comrades. On Saturday, May 15, she passed away unexpectedly. Our hearts are aching for her husband, Matt, and their loved ones.
Thank you, MJ, for using your voice to help others. You were clearly treasured and will be deeply missed.
(December 26, 1980 — May 15, 2010)
(Condolences may be left on Mary Jo’s blog, or on the Facebook memorial page her husband, Matt, created. This post was created with his permission.)
A word about the VU Anniversary Video
I missed somebody and I feel terrible.
I am not a videographer. I’ve got a decent Macbook with some great software that came pre-installed, but before I made last week’s anniversary video I’d never so much as blown the dust off it. It took me all day (and many frantic emails to savvier friends) to figure out how to cobble together what I did. I am proud of the result, but let’s just say I won’t be making another one anytime soon.
There were many survivors who were not pictured in the video, either because they weren’t comfortable with putting their faces out there or they weren’t able to get a photo to me–no big deal. Unfortunately, there was someone who sent me a photo and somehow, someway, it fell through the cracks. I didn’t discover my mistake until today, as I was cleaning out my email inbox. Keith never said anything; I only found out by accident.
I can’t tell you how terrible I feel about this.
Keith Smith is a survivor. He was one of the first survivors to post his story on VU, and he is one of the few males to have done so–which makes his story so vital, because men need safe places to speak out and seek support. I’m honored he did so on VU, and I’m deeply sorry I messed up.
Keith, I’m so sorry I missed your photo in the video. I would redo the whole thing if I didn’t think it would take a week and possibly ruin it entirely. I hope you’ll accept my apology.
Thank you all for the incredibly warm celebration you gave VU last week. For your comments, your emails, your Tweets, your posts, I am eternally grateful. Thank you especially to all the survivors; those who have already spoken out, and those who are still patiently awaiting their turns.
And, to Keith. Thank you.
First Anniversary Celebration, Violence UnSilenced* UPDATED
One year ago today, Violence UnSilenced launched.
I find myself at a loss for words, so I’ll just let this video do the talking.
Thank you all, so very, very much.
UPDATE: I missed somebody! I feel so terrible. Please read this.
If you would like to join these survivors, email your post to maggie [at] violenceunsilenced [dot] com. If you would like to support these survivors, please read and comment on the stories posted twice weekly here. If you would like to offer further moral support to Violence UnSilenced, visit the pledge page to add a badge to your site. To learn more about Violence UnSilenced, read the about page. Thank you.
2010 Bloggie Awards
I’m not gonna say much here because I’m pretty speechless. So I’ll keep this short and sweet.
Violence UnSilenced is a finalist for Best Community Blog in the 2010 Bloggie awards. It’s a huge honor, and regardless of the outcome of the voting, it’s already a priceless victory in terms of exposure. So many people will learn about VU now.
Most of all, I can’t imagine a more appropriate category.
This site belongs, and has always belonged, to all of us.
Thank you so much.
(and, if you’re so inclined, you can vote here.)
More importantly, please read and support the survivor below this post, and survivors before her, and the many, many survivors to come.
