Shante Saulsberry – Community Wellness Advocate Running for Arizona House of Representatives District 13 Seat
Shante Saulsberry is known throughout the Valley of the Sun as a tireless advocate for women and children who have experienced the trauma of domestic violence. As founder and executive director of Janice’s Women’s Center, she has helped countless women and their children to navigate the aftermath of domestic violence and find the path to a new life.
But call Shante a domestic violence advocate and be prepared to be corrected.
“Domestic violence is at the core of so many democratic issues in our community,” states Saulsberry. From homelessness to mental health problems, from chronic health issues to poverty and hunger, from educational inequities to behavioral issues in children, the impacts of domestic violence are felt keenly and deeply across our community.
Today, the definition of domestic violence is the battered woman. Someone who displays the physical characteristics of violence – bruising, broken bones, etc. “That needs to change,” says Saulsberry.
People need to understand that mental and emotional abuse are also forms of domestic violence. Why is this important?
According to BetterHelp, long-term abuse can cause chronic pain, anxiety, or depression and lead to feelings of guilt, shame, hopelessness, or powerlessness. Severe and ongoing emotional abuse can also increase the risks of alcohol and drug use.
All of these make it difficult for the domestic abuse survivor to build a new life once they are able to get out. Limited by physical ailments, weighed down by mental and emotional issues, how is a woman to advance in her job or dream of a college education? Coping with the after-effects of prolonged trauma, how is a mother to help her child manage the behavioral issues that come with PTSD?
And domestic violence cases are only rising.
According to StatesAttorney.org, in the United States, domestic violence rates have steadily increased over the past few decades. This implies more than 10 million women and men experience physical abuse at the hands of their partners. (Aug 22, 2022)
Phoenix 3TV/CBS5 reported that Arizona is one of the worst states for domestic violence deaths, and a newly released state report shows there were more last year than the year before.
This is a crisis in our communities. A crisis that threatens the very health of our communities.
That’s why Shante is a candidate for Arizona House of Representatives District 13. Shante believes that winning this seat will give her a platform to take the domestic violence issue, and the myriad of corresponding issues, to the broader consciousness of our community.
“We need to connect those dots. We need to begin to see domestic violence not as a single problem in a sea of community issues,” states Saulsberry. “We need to see that domestic violence is THE problem at the center of the health and wellness of our communities.”
In short, we need more community health advocates, and Arizona representatives, like Shante Saulsberry.
This post is not a political endorsement. This is for informational purposes only.