Turning a Book into a Cause
One of Annette McGivney’s primary motivations in writing Pure Land was to raise awareness about family violence and Developmental Trauma Disorder, and to help those affected find healing. In conjunction with the book, McGivney has established a public outreach campaign called I Am Pure Land that includes a non-profit organization aimed specifically at immersing child victims in the healing power of nature. A portion of the author’s royalties from Pure Land will support guided wilderness river trips for child victims of domestic violence in a program created by McGivney called The Healing Lands Project. These trips include mental health professionals who continue to work with the children after the wilderness journey is over. For more information on Healing Lands, go to: https://healinglandsproject.com.
the Healing Lands project
The Healing Lands Project represents a unique partnership between author Annette McGivney, the Family Violence Institute of Northern Arizona University and Grand Canyon Youth. The Project serves youth in the Family Violence Institute's Arizona Child and Adolescent Survivor Initiative and seeks to utilize the beauty and serenity of a wilderness river trip to bring healing to children who are victims of family violence.
Nurture in nature
Family violence is among the most pressing social and mental health problems in the United States. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 3.4 million children in the United States were deemed at risk in 2015 for being victims of domestic abuse and neglect. A primary reason family violence remains so insidious is that parents who abuse each other and/or their children were often victims of family violence, and never received help. The Healing Lands Project seeks to interrupt the cycle of violence by incorporating the healing power of nature and the community of a wilderness trip into the support services provided to child victims.
How you can help
The Healing Lands Project is raising funds to take 12 child victims in the ACASI program on a 5-day San Juan River trip. This pilot project will be clinically supported with Family Violence Institute staff as well as GCY guides. The experience on a wild river will give the children the rare opportunity—perhaps the first in their lives—to enjoy the natural world and its healing powers. There will be a guided curriculum on the river and therapeutic peer support sessions in the evenings held at the campsite. Healing Lands is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations go directly to the Healing Lands Project account managed by the nonprofit Grand Canyon Youth.