Connected for Safety: Building a Safer Community Through Conversation

Community members, advocates, and local leaders came together for Connected for Safety, an afternoon of meaningful conversation about domestic violence, honoring community generosity, and strengthening support for survivors.

Meaningful conversations can create meaningful change.

On Sunday, October 25, Pillars Community Health (PCH) brought together community members, advocates, and local leaders at The Elm in La Grange for Connected for Safety: A Benefit for Survivors of Domestic Violence & Community Conversation.

Held in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the event created space for an important discussion about technology-facilitated abuse and the ways technology can be used to monitor, control, and harm people in relationships.

Moderated by Pamela Lannom, editor of The Hinsdalean, the conversation featured Beth Payne, Legal Director of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation and PCH Board Member; Judge Mike Chvatal of the Circuit Court of Cook County; and Sophia Grallert, PCH Domestic and Sexual Violence Community Outreach Advocate.

Together, they explored warning signs of digital abuse, online privacy, legal protections available to survivors, and how friends, families, and communities can offer support.

One message resonated throughout the conversation: Supporting survivors starts with listening, believing, and speaking up.

Honoring Those Who Give From the Heart

The event also included the presentation of PCH’s inaugural Hand & Heart Award to the PNCC Nurses of UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale and La Grange, recognizing their longstanding generosity and commitment to survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Through holiday gift collections, back-to-school drives, and other acts of kindness, this dedicated group has helped bring comfort, joy, and a sense of community to survivors and their families, including those staying at PCH’s Constance Morris House domestic violence shelter.

Their generosity comes from a simple but powerful place: a desire to help others. Year after year, they have shown survivors that their community cares and that they are not alone.

We are grateful for their kindness and proud to recognize them as the first recipients of the Hand & Heart Award.

Continuing the Conversation

Thank you to our panelists, moderator, honorees, attendees, and everyone who helped make Connected for Safety possible.

As Domestic Violence Awareness Month comes to a close, our commitment continues. Conversations like these remind us that everyone has a role to play in building safer, healthier communities.

For more insights from the discussion, read Pamela Lannom’s Hinsdalean column, Talk About DVAM, as the Conversation Matters.