Dove, Inc.

2018 Coats for Kids drive has begun and we will be collecting new and good, used coats for families in need through November 30. Participating Cleaners will make sure the coats are clean and fresh and ready for the clothing rooms to distribute. (All addresses Decatur unless noted otherwise.)   WAND and Dove have teamed up each year to collect the coats!  The clean or new coats are taken to participating clothing rooms for families to choose.    Donate and make it a warmer winter for everyone! 　 　 Participating Cleaners Classic Cleaner, 2474 N. Main   Peerless Cleaners, 519 N. Monroe   Pride Cleaners and Launderers 2553 N. Main 1804 E. Eldorado 912 W. Eldorado 2056 Mt. Zion Road Waite's Dry Cleaners and Launderers 1004 S. Main, Decatur 664 W. Eldorado 115 Magnolia, Forsyth Drop off sites Decatur Public Library, 130 N. Franklin   Decatur Township Offices, 1620 S. Taylorville Road   Good Samaritan Inn, 920 N. Unio

I was recently driving home on a beautiful fall evening, one of those days when a perfect blue sky was giving way to a beautiful sunset.   As I admired the glorious colors of fall as evening approached, I also noticed the warm lights coming from neighborhood houses, making them all look inviting.   I pulled into my driveway and felt that familiar feeling………………it feels so good to be home.   Home should be that place where everyone is comfortable and knows that they are loved and wanted and accepted.   Sometimes the chaos of dinner, homework, ballgames, housework can intrude on the peacefulness of home, but even with that, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz was right……………. . there’s no place like home. Unless……. you live in a home where domestic violence exists.   When you live there, you probably drive home without noticing the beauty around you.   You are not anticipating being at home with joy; you face it with fear.   What am I walking into?   What have I done wrong today? ……I don’t

“Why do they stay in that relationship?”   “What is wrong with them?!?”   “Do they like it??!!”     “You would think they would leave if they didn’t like it!!”     “Why would someone stay with a person who constantly puts them down, calls them names, hurts them over and over physically, emotionally and even sexually?” Sound familiar??   There is no easy answer to these questions.   Sadly, these are thoughts and questions that some have about domestic violence victims.   How wrong they are in their way of thinking!!    I can guarantee we will never meet the victim who tells us they “liked it”!!   I would like to challenge your way of thinking – instead of asking and dwelling on “Why do they stay or why don’t they leave”? – I would like to rephrase that question to “What are the barriers that are keeping them in that relationship?” Think about when they first met.   Things could not have been better.   He/she was charming, affectionate, thoughtful, romantic, and respectful.