HAVOCA Wrist Bands

[Jamie]

These bands have become quite popular of late. In order to understand if there would be a demand for them please can you indicate if you'd wear one and if you would consider donating/paying to recieve one?

Any questions just shout.

They would look something like this but have 'HAVOCA' embossed or printed on them.

[abbi]

I answered yes I would wear and pay £1 for it. But in fact I guess I would just pay £1 for it and won't wear it. I guess I would give it as a gift to someone who is very much socially involved/outspoken about the topic.

[Jamie]

I changed the title to reflect ability to buy one but not necessarily wear it.

[hep]

I make beaded jewellery, its not something I have done for a while but I still have stock. An alternative is individually made beaded bracelets with no name, no slogan just sonething designed for you.

no idea how the donation would work but its an option

[Carrie]

Yes, but I'd prefer one of hep's!

[Eva]

I prefer Heps idea too.

[Sigma]

I would buy one of hep's also x x

[tracker]

I wear three wristband, Help for heroes, London 2012, and Another. They all mean a lot to me. No one has ever asked what they are for. They also help to cover up other things that I am not proud of, and they mean something to me. I would gladly wear one for Havoca. I like hep's idea, but I don't think blokes wear beaded bracelets, I may be wrong .

[Beginning]

I wouldn't wear one which said havoca, I'm not brave enough to make it public. I would probably buy and wear one of heps though

[claudine]

It's a tough one...since it can be a conversation starter. I meet new people all the time and no matter how old, 'new' is usually 'awkward'. Anyway, I would have to be prepared to answer questions, even if no one ever asks.. BUT the big news in the US is that Cleveland, Ohio nightmare that happened with three women being held, kidnapped, abused, etc. for TEN years! One of the three has been talking to the press about being a motivational speaker...but she was thrust into the limelight. Another of the three doesn't want pictures of her shown at all.

What's hard also is, how many of us show a different person to the world? I guess that would be most people. Talking about abuse is so personal...I would immediately think...all they are thinking is, "what happened to you?" even if I was just being a 'supporter'. I don't know, Jamie, how do you handle it? Does everyone you know, know about HAVOCA?

My family flew into a frenzy of questions about details and there was so much denial...I know they would ask..

[workensleep]

.. BUT the big news in the US is that Cleveland, Ohio nightmare that happened with three women being held, kidnapped, abused, etc. for TEN years! One of the three has been talking to the press about being a motivational speaker...but she was thrust into the limelight. Another of the three doesn't want pictures of her shown at all...

>>>workensleep<<<
The Ohio story is on all accounts beyond disturbing; this week the city started demolishing that house. This is one case that the US justice system actually got right:
(AP) — The Ohio man convicted of holding three women captive in his Cleveland house over a decade and raping them repeatedly was sentenced Thursday to life in prison plus 1,000 years.
Ariel Castro, 53, apologized to his victims in a rambling, defiant statement before he was sentenced. He blamed his sex addiction and others while claiming most of the sex was consensual and that the women were never tortured.

Just before the sentencing, one of three women he kidnapped stood just feet away from Castro and confronted him, telling him his life was over. "You took 11 years of my life away and I have got it back," said Michelle Knight. "I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning."

He's guilty, everyone knows he's guilty, and still at the end of all that he denied the torture. You can't make someone admit all the things they've done, there's no sense in chasing after that. Also, I don't know what prison code of honor is for convicts/inmates' treatment of a guy like that once he's in the slammer... do fellow prisoners just beat him daily but make sure they don't accidentally kill him? Will some inmate just take it upon himself to straight up end that guy in his first week in? Who knows.

Anyway, wristband-I like the idea it's just kind of a rough fit for me at least- hurting, hyper vigilant, hiding/masking/concealing, vulnerable, insecure, fearful, awkward, judged, discarded, rejected, fing angry, quick tempered, judgemental, struggling with self-acceptance, and unhappy. While I like the idea of being an advocate, I'm afraid my Caveat emptor factor kind of blows my PR value to the org, pretty sure that's not cognitive distortion, I'm right on the money there.

Please accept my recommendation of listening to the Radiohead track below; I've sobbed like a small child along with this song more times than I can remember, dunno if anyone else likes this stuff but here it is:

Radiohead: How to Disappear Completely

[Jamie]

I guess there are two options here (with slightly different twists):

Firstly, the personalised beaded bracelets from Hep. Which, although may raise revenue for HAVOCA wouldn't necessarily promote the site.

Then secondly, the rubber 'charity' bands. These would advertise HAVOCA and also raise revenue. Incidentally, when people ask me why I run HAVOCA, I dn't always tell them bout my abuse. I just say I think its a good cause and deserves my time. Same could apply if someone asked you about the bracelet. Afterall not everyone here who wears a 'help the heros' bracelet fought in a war and sufferes from PTSD - but they still support the cause. You could say you know victim of abuse (which would be true) and you are wearing it to suppor them.

Anyway, Hep, could you email with costs an how many you could make.

At the moment, with the level of interest, the rubberbands wouldn't make a profit so all they would do is raise awareness. Not a bad thing.

Thanks for the feedback

Jamie

[claudine]

Well that makes sense. Guess I couldn't see the forest..

[zepto]

I understand about raising awareness, though I'm not sure i would particularly want to do that to people I know (selfish I know), but this is my haven. And whilst I'm happy to have oodles of people I don't know here I don't want to encourage or worry about people I do know here-though there may be some.

Zep

[abbi]

Hep's bracelets could definitely go on ETSY or some other similar website, and havoca mentioned as a cause - havoca already has a book shop, so why not an etsy shop? There are so many shops for a good cause, that it won't surprise anyone. Accordingly, the link to etsy shop could go on havoca's main site and Jamie's signature of course . If a Havoca shop on etsy goes online, I am sure there are a lot of crafty people in here as well who might be willing to make something for havoca. And the bracelets could also carry havoca's name or include a bead with havoca's symbol on it (holding hands).

As for wearing a havoca bracelet, it would be so much easier to say "oh yeah, I just got in on etsy. I found it nice, it's personalized and it's for a good cause too". Especially if it's just a symbol included, not the name. You would be in control who to tell which cause that is or not. Or just come up with something random (gardeners in a war zone). Who would know?

For me personally it would make such a difference - I would wear it. Easily. Everybody knows I am en etsy addict at the moment and spend lots of time on it hunting for wedding stuff.