Correction appended: A previous version of this story misstated Joanne Karagnara's title with the Dream on Purpose organization.
Joanne Karagnara never imagined she’d be sharing her story of domestic violence, but at Springhill Baptist Church Saturday afternoon, she was a living inspiration to a room full of women.
“In the moment when it was happening, I didn't understand why,” she said. “But now that I'm sitting here, I get it. I'm grateful that I get to share my experience, and I hope and pray that it helps someone else.”
Karagnara is the vice president of an organization called Dream on Purpose, a non-profit aimed to mentor girls ages 11-18.
She was the keynote speaker at “What’s love got to do with it?” a free intimate partner violence awareness and prevention seminar for young women. It was hosted by the Gainesville’s graduate chapter of Zeta Phi Beta, a historically African American sorority, and several domestic violence support groups like Peaceful Paths, a multi-service domestic violence shelter in Alachua, Bradford and Union County. The seminar took place at SpringHill Baptist Church.
Yvette Carter, president of the chapter, said the group hosts similar throughout the year for people of all ages. She hopes the event empowers girls by giving them the tools to combat teen dating violence.
“It is important that girls and young ladies learn the signs and know the strategies to not fall victim,” Carter said.
During Karagnara’s speech, she told her story of domestic violence from a third-person perspective before revealing at the end that she was the woman in the story. She emphasized how important it is for women to put themselves first in toxic relationships.
“If you want that relationship to die, honey, you got to starve that out. Don't feed it anymore. Feed you. Feed yourself. Feed your passions. Feed your goals. Feed your dreams. Start working towards the woman you want to be, and your partner is going to find you,” she said.
Joni Harris, an attendee, brought her young daughter to the event. She was hoping to learn about different communication techniques and coping mechanisms that would benefit her. Her main takeaway was the importance of modeling healthy relationships for your children.
“Showing them that this is better instead of just telling them. You have to express it so they can see this is the better route to go,” she said.
The event also included breakout sessions where the girls went to one room while parents and adults went to another.
Nicole Ramos, a violence prevention educator and youth advocate at Peaceful Paths, led the girls’ group with Lauren Griffin, an eleventh-grade student at East High School who has volunteered with the shelter.
In the group, the pair covered relationship red flags, power and control dynamics, myths surrounding teen dating violence and more.
“Abuse is never the survivor's fault, I can't stress that enough” Griffin told the group. “Abuse is a choice.”
Griffin said she volunteers to help protect other young women.
“I just want to teach these young girls how to support those who are in bad relationships and know how to be there for them, how to avoid it, tackle it, before it gets to that point,” Griffin said.
Peaceful Paths provides local, 24/7 domestic violence resources and support. It also provides online resources and toolkits to identifying types of abuse which can be found here.
