Keynote speaker for the luncheon will be Leslie Morgan Steiner, a domestic violence survivor and New York Times best-selling author. Photo: Peace House.

PARK CITY, Utah. – For the first time in three years, Peace House will hold its A Survivor’s Story…About Abusive Love in-person luncheon to raise funding for supplies, programming, and resources on Thursday, May 12. The Peace House is a nonprofit organization that helps victims of domestic abuse and violence take the first step to freedom.

These victims are women, children, and also men; men are typically forgotten as a victim demographic.

“We have emergency beds and transitional housing, which are really mini apartments for families committed to moving forward and away from the abuse,” said Kate Margolis, vice chair with Peace House. Its transitional housing program and emergency shelter offer safety and security to individuals escaping violent situations.

During COVID, when shelters made the difficult decision to close their doors, Peace House was able to give victims their own apartments. Overall, COVID saw an increase in domestic violence globally due to victims having to shelter in place with abusers.

The shelter’s sleeping compartments are private and quite cozy.

Co-chairs for this event, Harriet Berg and Kate Margolis, want people to know that victims don’t walk into abuse freely and knowingly.

“A lot of people’s first question that will be asked, ‘I don’t understand why you just leave.’ Domestic violence is so complicated,” Margolis said. “Nobody falls in love with an abuser; they fall in love with who they fall in love with. It starts with, ‘I love you so much, I can’t live without you, you are the best thing in the world.’ And then, as soon as you’re together, or you’re living together, or you’re married, the abuse slowly starts. A lot of it is crazy-making, and crazy-making can look like ‘well, if you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have to hit you.”

The luncheon will be in-person at the Promontory Club’s Double Deer for 250 attendees and online with unlimited virtual spots; in-person tickets start at $250, and the virtual experience is $50. Doors open at 11 a.m., and lunch served at 11:30 a.m.

The featured speaker for the event is Leslie Morgan Steiner, New York Times best-selling author, TED Talk presenter, and domestic violence survivor.

The Peace House communal living room is a safe space where guests can relax and recreate with one another. Photo: Peace House.

Morgan Steiner will share the stage with Executive Director Kendall Wyckoff and Chairperson Richard Urankar.

“We’re going to do a Give for Good paddle raise where people can raise their paddle and donate money that can provide the necessary services that we need for Peace House,” said Berg Peace House co-chair. “Unlike an auction where people auction off one particular item [to the highest bidder], we can have multiple people raising their paddle for various services that we really need for the house. They can provide housing for a family for a month, school supplies for children for a year, counseling, etc. Our goal for the event is $350,000.”

Matching sponsor Marriott Daughters Foundation matched $50,000 already, and other sponsors include the Pat Moran Family Foundation and the Promontory Club.

Proceeds will go toward resources and supplies for victims and families looking to escape domestic violence. Peace House provides services to people in Wasatch and Summit Counties, and its “goal is never to turn someone away from our counties,” although its doors are open to those who need help whenever possible.

Registration and donations can be made online for Peace House’s A Survival Story…About Abusive Love Luncheon.