“Does one voice really make a difference in a choir of 1,000?” I asked this question of a well know choir director once. His emphatic reply may surprise you, as it did me. “Yes. It certainly does! If that voice is singing off tune, even by one degree, it has the potential to eventually drag the entire choir off. However, if that one voice is strong and right on target, it can serve almost as our tuning fork in keeping the music right on pitch… and if that one voice is missing, the harmony feels a little out of balance to my ear.”

If one voice can have this much effect on a choir, how much more can a single voice change the direction of a community? It’s certainly food for thought: how is your voice affecting the tone of our island home? Is your voice missing? Or perhaps even singing a harsh, dissonant note, thus leaving our collective harmony not quite as sweet as it could be?

The song of every community is made up of its many different voices: all genders, all ages, all ethnicities, all belief systems; each as important as the others in generating the notes of equality, justice and safety. Together, our thousand Island Voices create melodies that either foster opportunity or cultivate oppression. So, where do you fit?

Perhaps our collective song still has a part in need of your voice. Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of the San Juan Islands (DVSAS) and the Stand Up Men ask you to lift your voice with others around you in seeking to Break the Silence Surrounding Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in our island communities. Please consider making a donation of $100 (or whatever amount you are able) and joining our 1,000 Island Voices campaign during the months of May and June. Just mail your check to: PO Box 1516 Eastsound, WA 98250.

Or visit: www.DVSASsanjuans.org and click on the Stand Up Men link. If you would like to learn about more great ways to get involved with DVSAS, just give us a call at (360) 378-8680.

Brittni Bryan

Advocate, DVSAS