Column: Working to stop domestic violence in Florida

In Florida, domestic violence remains one of the most critical issues impacting our families and our children. We know that "family violence threatens child" ranks among the top three highest volumes of calls to the Statewide Child Abuse Hotline each year.

The annual Florida Uniform Crime Report continues to reflect that approximately 20 percent of all homicides in our state are the result of domestic violence. That same report illustrated that domestic violence murders increased 6.1 percent last year. Too many women, children and men are being killed by people who say they love them the most.

During my time as first lady of Florida, I visited domestic violence shelters throughout the state and spent significant time talking with women and children who fled their homes the night before with nothing but the clothes on their backs. That experience led me to become a founding board member of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence Foundation, whose goal is to create a statewide private revenue stream to ensure that life-saving services for domestic violence victims and their children are less dependent on government resources.

With the continued support of our legislative, corporate and community leaders, Florida can be the first in the nation to create a statewide blueprint for ensuring the long-term sustainability of service provision for domestic violence survivors and their children.

October is designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Last year, I requested that everyone take one step or action to prevent domestic violence. I was so pleased to hear from many of you regarding the steps you were taking within your communities. I heard from a father who dedicated dinnertime to discussing the signs of both an abusive and healthy relationship with his children. A mother of four wrote that she spent one day a week volunteering at her local domestic violence center, and her children opened a lemonade stand in their neighborhood during the summer to raise money for the shelter.

During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I ask you once again to take just one step to educate your children, teens, neighbors and co-workers about the devastating impacts of domestic violence. I encourage each of you to wear the color purple, which represents a message of unity to end domestic violence in our country. Your actions inspire me, so please email Columba.Bush@fcadvfoundation.org and tell me what your action steps are to prevent and end domestic violence in your community. I know that every step you take is improving or saving a life.

Last year, Jeb and I hosted the first annual "Door to Hope" event to raise funds for Florida's domestic violence centers, and the event exceeded our expectations. We are pleased to host this year's event on Saturday at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

Please consider joining us for the evening as we raise money for a cause that saves the lives of women and children in our state. For more information, contact Leisa Wiseman at 850-284-4352 or email: fcadvfoundation@fcadv.org

Columba Bush, the former first lady of Florida, is a founding board member of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence Foundation Inc.