Today, I have the privilege of talking with someone from my hometown (Glasgow, MT) who is putting in the work to make a difference for those who are experiencing domestic violence. She’s in a tiny town with a big heart.
Lacie Eastman was born & raised in Montana. She studied psychology and English literature at Briercrest College in Caronport Saskatchewan. During her time in college, she volunteered at a homeless shelter in Regina Sask and her eyes were opened to the world of domestic violence. After college, she lived in Billings and worked as a counselor in a youth detention center and later went on to become an advocate for the YWCA domestic violence shelter.
In 2011, Lacie moved back to her hometown, Glasgow, and was shocked at the lack of services there & the negative response from the community about the domestic violence program that was in place. As fate would have it – she thought she would volunteer for their program, but didn’t & it was later shut down for embezzlement. That’s when she decided to to do something about it. Lacie wanted to gain the community’s trust back.
So she gathered some friends and started Love Should Not Hurt. In 2017 they started by raising $1000 for the victim services unit within the Glasgow Police Station. The money raised was allocated specifically for victims of domestic violence for things like tickets out of town (train or plane) and hotel services. She wanted to assist in getting families away from their abusive situation.
In 2018 they teamed up with Victim Services and held a kickball tournament raising almost $3,000. Since there is no local shelter, they gave a portion of the money raised to a shelter that has provided services for the Glasgow area. They dropped the check off in September and during that time they decided they needed to become a nonprofit.
Lacie and her team have a small office space running solely off of donations. They have a small team of three with a handful of volunteers. Their focus right now is being a positive influence in the community & raising awareness. Once they become a non-profit they’ll be developing support groups, crisis intervention services, healthy habits classes, a mentoring program for adults and within time, shelter services. They’ll work with the MT Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. The NE MT region is very large & their ultimate goal is to be a service hub for the region.
Lacie shares her journey with us.
You can connect with Lacie through her Facebook page, Love Should Not Hurt.
If you’d like to help out, they have created an Amazon list with some requested item. Love Should Not Hurt Amazon Wish List.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is a fantastic resource.
Thank you so much for listening!
Sending love and positivity your way, Steph
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