Emily Klehm, the Executive Director of South Suburban Humane Society, asked me a question that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Why do you think so many women won’t leave abusive relationships?
I responded the way you might expect. Fear of the unknown. Codependency. Lack of money.
And those are all important reasons. But then she told me another one. In fact, apparently it’s one of the biggest reasons. And my jaw dropped.
Many women won’t leave abusive relationships because they won’t leave their pets.
AN ANIMAL SHELTER WITH A BIG VISION
Listeners of my podcast might remember Emily. In an episode called “Anatomy of a Crisis,” we talked about how a staffer of hers had reported that she had been held up at gunpoint and a dog had been abducted. And then the staffer went missing. The story got weirder and weirder.
Emily gave us a master class on navigating an organizational crisis and how to come through even stronger. This was an amazing episode and I strongly suggest you listen to it, if you haven’t already.
I caught up with Emily several months ago and learned that her tiny nonprofit had a new and outsized vision. And that she received a $6 million grant to bring that vision to life. Yes, I said $6 million.
Game changer.
So, you don’t get $6mm without a big vision. Wanna hear about it?
Spoiler alert: it’s really big, really innovative, and yes, it involves helping victims of domestic violence.Continue Reading