Operation Freedom NC gives lesson on domestic abuse at ECU

NC Department of Justice: 131 domestic violence related homicides in 2008

By: Arthur Mondale | WNCT
Published: October 24, 2009

An ECU student who lost his mother to domestic violence is on a mission to keep it from happening to other people. He's working with advocacy groups across the state to relay the message: Love Doesn't Hurt. And now he’s taking the message to more college campuses.
"We can't wait until people die and until murders happen to try to prevent things,” said Operation Freedom NC president Allen Thomas, Jr. “We believe in being proactive--not reactive."
And that's the message that could have saved the life of his own mother.
In March, his father Allen Thomas, Sr., killed her. Today, the ECU grad student finds liberation and healing through his testimony.
Thomas also volunteers with Voices for Victims at ECU. It's a student run organization that with the help of ECU police--offers counseling, referrals, and protective orders on a victim's behalf.
And you don't have to be physically touched to be a victim; cyber stalking, text bullying, and unsettling phone messages all fall under domestic abuse.
And even though batterers can change, Thomas adds victims need strength to overcome the danger and move on with their lives, “You can forgive them but also understand that the ties have to be separated in order for healing to take place."

Operation Freedom NC is headed to NC State next week to deliver its message.
The North Carolina Department of Justice says there were 131 domestic violence related homicides last year. Only eight of them had protective orders issued against their attackers.