below is an introduction to our backstory… we’ve been on a wonderful journey for the past 6 years……..
After almost 12 years of wanting to make a difference and to keep the memory of one of my greatest friends alive, – (pictured left) I was presented with the opportunity to give back and potentially eliminate the generational cycle of abuse. The K.A.S.S.I..E. Project was launched and named in honor of Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Betts.... whose life along with the life of her unborn child were ended by the hands of her boyfriend. He shot Cassie in the head as her 7 year old daughter lay in the backseat of the car pretending to be asleep on a cold December night….Not only had Cassandra become another senseless victim of Domestic Violence – her 7 yr old daughter, Justyce has been left to live with those horrific memories of crawling over her mothers’ lifeless body to find help and growing up without her.
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Our awareness ribbon was specifically designed by the founder to connect survivors of both sexual and domestic abuse. White is the color for molestation/sexual violence survivors and purple represents domestic violence survivors. The multi-sized polka-dots signify how either form of abuse can affect any person, any age, gender or background.
The national project was a group of women coming together with one common purpose, to create an awareness of domestic violence. Further, this project has created free-standing life-sized red wooden figures. Each figure bears the name of a woman whose life was ended abruptly and violently at the hands of a husband, ex-husband, partner, or acquaintance. The original display housed 26 figures all bearing the name of each life lost. A 27th figure was created for those who were unaccounted for.
Today, with national support, the Silent Witness Project reaches into all fifty states and internationally. The Project has grown to include men, children, senior citizens and the disabled.
