A Sisterhood of Hope

Lynette Heard remembers the day she decided to leave her abusive boyfriend.

“He tried to fight me and rape me in front of my kids. One of my sons tried to help me, and he hit him,” she says.

Heard and her three sons lived in a home filled with violent uncertainty for several years in Kansas City, Kansas. “But, he worked and brought his check home…I was taking the money and the occasional black eye,” she offers by way of explanation for staying.

The violence directed at her children motivated Heard to make a choice. Once she left, years passed before her ex-boyfriend stopped stalking her. Today, she is married, writes books, and helps other women through their ordeal by teaching classes on domestic violence survival.

The Journey Ministries in St. Louis reaches women who are living the life Heard still vividly remembers. Founder Cynthia Bennett calls domestic violence an “epidemic that is escalating.”

Bennett started The Journey Ministries in 2002. Her commitment is personal and ongoing as she continues reaching out to the community, corporations and others to raise funds to sustain the non-profit.

“I am a domestic abuse survivor from a previous marriage, and when I was going through I didn’t feel like I had anyone to help me. I stayed as long as I did because of fear, I was embarrassed, and I didn’t have the resources to leave,” she says.

Over the past 14 years, Bennett estimates that The Journey Ministries has helped close to one thousand women through workshops, support groups, and work sessions with other agencies for women.

“I started with monthly encouragement letters that I sent through email, and it evolved into a social service agency,” she states.

The organization will hold its first annual walk/run on October 8^th (www.raceforjadasa.org). Students from Dunbar Elementary school are expected to run in memory of their principal, Jacara Sproaps. Police say Sproaps’ ex-boyfriend opened fire on her and her boyfriend, killing them. He also shot Sproaps’ son and injured a police officer.

During workshops Bennett reminds women that “every time you go back it gets worse. First, it was a push. When you go back, it may be a slap.”

Bennett’s children are grown, and she celebrates a milestone birthday next month. She and her husband are excited about her plans to soon work fulltime with The Journey Ministries. “When I can see a person become empowered, become strong again, that keeps me going,” she explains.

Bennett and Lynette Heard faced down the odds. Now, both spend time supporting other women.

“You’ve got to know when to fold it and what a mighty God we serve,” Heard states. Her sons are also adults now. One of them is a police officer. “He was a very good kid…always kept his cool and said, ‘He didn’t want to see a man hit a woman.’”

Years have passed for Heard and Bennett, and they have survived the abuse. Yet, both remember the days they lived in fear. They tell their stories to inspire others, hoping to encourage them to keep fighting for a life they know can be better than what they have endured.