Los Angeles, 23 September 2017 Written by: Miquette Caalsen – On a magic carpet, under a desert moon, the Face Forward continues to be real heroes by helping survivors of abuse or assault, to lift their heads and put their best Face Forward on the road to recovery.
The Face Forward organization was founded by Dr. David Alessi, a foremost facial plastic reconstructive surgeon and his Scottish-born wife, Deborah, with the mission to help survivors of violent and disfiguring crimes, by providing pro bono emotional support and reconstructive surgery for victims of Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking or any cruel acts of crime. Together they play their part in helping survivors heal and provide them “with the confidence to put their best Face Forward once again.”
The heart of their work really hit home, when Claudia Graf shared her story with us. “I think it is such a key organization to actually shine a light on such an important subject that is still current to this day. People, I think, kind of think about it as something in the past because people don’t like to talk about it.” Tears shimmered lightly as she continued: “I was in a very difficult relationship for many years, and it took me a long time to get out.”
How can we recognize the first sign of domestic violence?
According to Deborah Alessi: “I would say control is the first sign, someone who wants to control you. They start out very charming and then they go on and you see little signs but you ignore it. And then the abuse control starts. They’re usually the most good-looking guys, the most charming men, the one who’s your prince. ”
Keltie Knight extrapolated: “Controlling, manipulative, wanting to tell you what to do, wanting to segregate you from your friends.”
“There’s a change in attitude in someone, maybe they’re a little more quite, a little more reserved, maybe they’re not reaching out to their friends as much as they have in the past,” Lana Parilla on how to recognize signs of possible abuse in a friend or loved one.
How can you escape the vicious cycle of abuse?
“The best advice is to face your fears, and to dig deep down and look into your heart and realize that there’s something wrong,” Claudia Graf told us about the first step.
Deborah Alessi added: “Confide in a friend, someone that you can trust and help you get through the situation.”
“You can’t do it alone, you need to have the help and there’s so many wonderful people out there to help; such a great resource from the Alessi’s and many, many other organisations that can help you. So you know, seek help.”
To find out more about Face Forward and the services they provide, please visit their website at www.faceforwardla.org. And please consider taking a stand side-by-side with the Alessi’s against Domestic Violence by donating through the site.
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