Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84GoodLifeFamilyMag.com SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2016 9 Our VIP (Very Inspiring Parent) Award honors the everyday, and not-so-everyday, heroes in our midst. Those whose tenacity, integrity and courage inspire others to exemplify the samecharacterandputtheirfamiliesandcommunityfirst,inspiteofthechallengeslifehasthrownatthem.GoodLifeFamilywillpresenttherecipientwithanelegantcrystalaward and will make a donation to the charity of their choice.There will be oneVIP award recipient in each issue of GoodLifeFamily magazine and featured on GoodLifeFamilyMag.com. For complete details or to nominate visit goodlifefamilymag.com or emailTricia@goodlifefamilymag.com. VIPAWARD “Turn your wounds into wisdom." - Oprah Winfrey Chris with his sister, Jennifer, at his wedding in 2008 sister, Soliel, who was only 2 years old when Jennifer died. Devastated about losing his sister, it took Chris around a year before he was able to start speaking about domestic violence and how it affects the victims, their children and their family. Since then, he has been an outspoken advocate against domestic violence, speaking at women’s shelters, high schools, juvenile detention centers and to a variety of other groups about how to manage anger. He has given interviews to Dallas news outlets, appeared on the Dr. Phil show and was the keynote speaker at an October Domestic Violence Month event for Hope’s Door, an organization dedicated to domestic violence prevention and intervention in Plano. “From a man’s point of view, we have control over these types of situations. You don’t see women killing men as much as the other way around,” Johnson says. “As a man, if your temper gets too hot, walk away.” Johnson himself follows this credo. Once, he says, during his second year playing for the Green Bay Packers, he and his wife had a heated argument. Before it could escalate, Johnson asked team security members to intervene, so he could walk away and cool off. “You have to think before you react. I did not want to put my hands on a woman. I grew up with a mom and three sisters, I have a daughter and two nieces,” says Johnson. “If you look at the woman you are with as your mother or your daughter, it will make you stop and think. Every woman has family; how would they feel if you hurt her?” The easiest way to handle heated arguments, Johnson tells men of all ages, is to turn your cheek, walk away and diffuse the situation. He teaches his daughter and son how to treat others, particularly how women should be treated, and sets the example with the way he treats his wife. Today, Johnson is retired from football, and spends much of his time doing motivational speaking. He still has a hard time dealing with Jennifer’s death but knows how important it is to create awareness about domestic violence. He notes that domestic violence is not only physical. It can be emotional, with the woman isolated from friends and family or brainwashed so she relies on a man for everything. “Domestic violence knows no age, gender, race, religion or socioeconomic status,” Johnson says. “It can happen to anyone.” For turning his personal tragedy to wisdom and contributing his strong voice to advocate for victims of domestic violence—particularly women—inspiring young men to take the right path, and being a solid role model to his children, Good Life Family Magazine is honored to present this month’s VIP award to Chris Johnson. What do you do if you or someone you know is being physically, emotionally, mentally or financially abused and you don’t know where to turn? KNOCK ON HOPE’S DOOR Hope’s Door in Plano has been helping victims of domestic violence throughout North Texas since 1986 and is still the only organization in Collin County specializing in services for domestic violence victims, children and perpetrators. Its mission is “to offer intervention and prevention services to individualsandfamiliesaffectedbyintimatepartnerandfamily violence and to provide education programs that enhance the community’s capacity to respond.” CEO Jim Malatich says, “Every person that we can help is a success story. Our success is helping our victims and clients get to a point where they can go through life without fear and give them the courage to achieve what they want to achieve.” At first, Hope’s Door provided a 24-hour crisis hotline and emergencyhousinginareahotelssincetherewasnopermanent shelter. Then, in 1989 a 21-bed permanent shelter opened and servicesexpandedtoincludecounselingforadultsandchildren, support group therapy, rapid rehousing, legal advocacy, community education and battering prevention programs. Hope’s Door is supported by fundraising efforts: individual and corporate donations and proceeds from the sale of gently used clothing donations at the Hope’s Door Resale Store, established in 1997.Via the Crissa’s ClosetVoucher program, clients are able to get what they need using vouchers at the resale store, since many often flee for safety with only the clothes on their backs. Any remaining items are sold to the public. Malatich notes that Hope’s Door’s greatest accomplishment is spreading domestic violence awareness in the community. He explains that when recent cases of domestic violence among players in the NFL were exposed, awareness within local communities was punctuated. “We saw a great number of people—men and women—come forward to ask for help.” Malatich adds that it is important to understand that domestic violence affects males as well as females. He says that their biggest challenge currently is raising enough funds to meet the needs of the community. At present, Hope’sDoordoesn’thaveenoughspaceintheirwomen’sshelter and does not have a shelter for men. Plans to help meet these needs include the merger of Hope’s Door and New Beginnings Center in Garland in September, placing two shelters under the auspices of one agency that will serve North Dallas and Collin counties. hopesdoorinc.org/mission DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRISIS HOTLINE: 972.422.SAFE (7233)