I am really excited to be a presenter for the upcoming Building Bridges Conference being hosted by the Sexual Violence Center in Minnesota on November 20, 2024. The following is an excerpt taken from promotional material regarding my presentation. Be sure to visit their website to learn more about the conference, scholarship opportunities, and the organization as a whole.
“In “Building Resilience and Restoration: Maintaining Wellness Strategies to Thrive”, Joyce Kyles of Joyce Kyles Consulting guides attendees through survivor-centered wellness and resilience strategies. Explore both traditional and innovative methods to establish survivor trust and support holistic success. Network with peers, share strategies, and leave with tangible resources to support your wellness goals. Be part of this journey at the Building Bridges Conference 2024!” November 20, 2024 Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake Register at:sexualviolencecenter.org
We would love to have you join us for this much needed discussion as we are approaching Domestic Violence Awareness month. Please see the following link for all of the details and registration information: https://www.womensadvocacycenter.org/forum
Greater Faith Tabernacle has been hosting the Daddy’s Girls Conference for the past 14 years. It has been an honor to work with and support the GFT family over the years for such an important event, as the event and the members of the congregation are dear to me. It was especially gratifying to be asked to serve as the Keynote speaker for their annual Kick Off Brunch.
I spoke about the importance of walking in faith, working through fear and trusting yourself and others. I shared my own experiences of abuse and what it means to be an overcomer. I shared about my earthly father and the relationship we had. We talked a lot about walking which was a big part of their theme for this year. Ironically, my organization is called Walking Into A New Life, Inc. And, as I always say, I do not believe in coincidences, so everything said and done that day was as it was intended to be.
The following is quoted directly from Greater Faith’s website to better provide the history of Daddy’s Girls and why it’s so important. I do encourage you to visit GFT if you’re living in Memphis or there visiting. Pastor and 1st Lady Johnson are beautiful souls and so is their entire congregation.
“Getting Families Together (GFT) is the nonprofit arm of Greater Faith Tabernacle Ministries, an edifice established for the community by the community. GFT is housed in the Institute for Success Center, a 15,000 square foot multipurpose community family life center, that opened its doors in 2004.
During the construction of the IS Center and approximately one year prior to its completion GFT’s founder, Pastor Orlester Johnson, received numerous women bearing similar experiences during altar call. Although their ages and nationalities varied, each woman spoke of the need to break free of the secret bondage holding them. These women shared similar stories of enduring sexual molestation as children, intimate partner violence (IPV), various other forms of domestic violence (DV), and other abusive situations. They spoke freely about the abuse they had suffered as a child and some confessed that they continued to suffer from violent situations in adulthood. Each of these individuals had grown up in households that did not include their biological father. Several spoke of being subjected to abusive stituations with men who were a relative, teacher, coach, pastor, or other person holding a supposedly “respectful” leadership role in their lives and that of their family.
As a direct result of receiving numerous disturbing accounts of this nature, the first annual Daddy’s Girls Conference convened in 2005. “
I had the opportunity to serve as a panelist for the Connecting the Dots to End DV Conference that took place at Abundant Grace Fellowship Church. It was hosted by the Healing Grace Counseling Services ministry of the church. I also provided the closing remarks for the program with the topic of ‘Now What’, which happens to fall in alignment with one of my signature talks. The panelists included everyone from the police department, members of the clergy, counseling and mental health services. The point of the conference was to provide information for all walks of the community, with the goal of ‘connecting the dots’ for those who may be going through abuse to see and know that options and support are available in all areas that they may encounter.
One of the biggest reasons that I was honored to participate in this event is that the focus was keeping the conversation of domestic violence going after October. That is something that’s very important to me. In a previous blog, I shared about writing an article for The Memphis Flyer entitled From Awareness to Action. In it, I shared my thoughts about the necessity of taking the information that we gain in October and using it to educate and assist victims of abuse all year long. I was also impressed with the fact that they had a special segment just for teens.
I sincerely thank Paris Ducker who asked me to take part in the conference and for everyone who embraced me and my insights.
The 39th Annual NOVA Conference was recently held in Columbus, OH, with Joyce Parkinson, serving as a workshop presenter. Parkinson, who is a survivor of domestic abuse, is the Executive Director of Walking Into A New Life, Inc. She found herself dealing with a number of barriers during her transition which left her feeling helpless and hopeless at times. With the help of friends, a lot of research and perseverance, she created a marketing company, JP Connections and started sharing her story of transition from victim to victorious. With a background in criminal justice, years of experience in social work and her own personal accounts, she has developed a curriculum noteworthy of sharing nationally, and has caught the attention of organizations locally. The official outline/launch is forthcoming.
NOVA (National Organization for Victims Assistance), is the longest national victim assistance organization of its type in the United States, having been founded in 1975. The conference is a four-day event, with hundreds of attendees from across the country who get together for a series of trainings and networking. This year’s conference was entitled “Implementing the Tools of Our Trade to Build a Comforting Justice”.
Parkinson’s workshop, entitled “Education, Microenterprise Development & Domestic Violence”, focused on best practices for educating advocates, businesses and organizations to better understand domestic violence and how to work with victims to become self-sufficient survivors. “It is easy to tell a person to leave. As advocates, we must also advise them on how to do it safely and equip them with some resources to help them with the transition. I want to help as many as possible to avoid many of the barriers that I encountered and walk into their new lives with confidence and hope.”
I am really excited to be a presenter for the upcoming Building Bridges Conference being hosted by the Sexual Violence Center in Minnesota on November 20, 2024. The following is an excerpt taken from promotional material regarding my presentation. Be sure to visit their website to learn more about the conference, scholarship opportunities, and the organization as a whole.
