Clinics of love

My best friend has been taking a class on gender and violence (such interesting discussions that are stemming out of it!) and recently had to do an interview with someone who works with a rape clinic or battered women's shelter. This got me thinking that I should really do a post about such places, especially since the people who work at these places are AMAZING! The amount of compassion those women and men have is unbelievable. I realize I'm probably speaking to the choir here, so I'll get to the point.

You want a learning experience? Go sit down and talk with someone who works for a rape clinic/battered women's shelter/etc for a few minutes. I haven't had the chance to do this yet, but I really, really want to. I'm guessing that it's going to lead me to volunteering somewhere.

If you're in Minnesota, here are a couple of great places to check out:
Cornerstone (Battered women's shelter)
Neighborhood Involvement Center: Rape and Sexual Abuse Clinic
Planned Parenthood
Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women
Minnesota Domestic Violence Crisis and Support Resources

Remember, if you have been a victim of rape (which is any kind of unwanted sexual contact), please tell someone about it! The easiest way to heal and move on is to talk about it.