Fundraising that’s saving lives

Lee Wochner:
The mission of the Rose rook Center in Kansas City, Missouri is easily understood to save lives by working to break the cycle of domestic violence. Doing so means keeping families safe and creating a safer community. And it also means supporting the center itself so that it continues its work of sheltering people and helping them. Our guest today is Scott Mason, who is director of stewardship and marketing for the Rosebrook Center.

A marketing and fundraising professional with over 20 years of experience in social services and the arts, Scott is a member of the Rose Brooks development team charged with fundraising $10 million a year, which includes grant writing, events, individual giving campaigns, and so much more. All of it aimed to helping the center handle around 12 ,000 cries for help a year and literally working to save people’s lives.

Scott shares successful fundraising strategies regarding donor engagement, how to break away from violence when it’s in your home, why he personally finds this work so fulfilling, and much more in this episode of That’s What C Said.

Jaclyn Uloth:
Welcome to the podcast that lightens the tension when things sort of get hard That’s What C! Said, the Counterintuity podcast, featuring interviews with leaders and doers who have helped to make our world a better place through their actions — and especially through marketing, communications, and embracing change. Here’s host, Lee Wochner.

Lee Wochner:
Scott, welcome to the show.

Scott Mason:
Thank you, I’m glad to be here.

Lee Wochner:
So you’re the director of stewardship and marketing for the nonprofit Rose Brooks Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The state admission of which is to break the cycle of domestic violence so that individuals and families can live free of abuse. And, I’ll tell you at initially, I thought, you know, well, I’m pretty lucky. I didn’t grow up in that situation. I mean, really stable household with good parents and good siblings. And then in the not thinking about it moment, a story I thought I would share with you came to me. So when I was like 15, I went over to this other boy’s house, because we were gonna trade comic books, we were both reading comic books, and we were gonna do a little exchange. And I was down in the basement with him, and there was some sort of ruckus going on that I could hear. And then one of the sisters came down and said, you need to leave, you need to leave right away. And when I went upstairs, the eldest son and the father were involved in a fist fight. I have not forgotten this story because it was shocking to me. And they were involved in a fist fight because the father, a hard drinking guy, had hit the mom and the eldest son had finally had enough, which was Bill Clinton’s story, right? And then you know, got into it with the old man. And it was, and I can still see it vividly in my mind. So, and I imagine many of us or most of us have some story like that. So I’m really pleased to meet you and talk to you today about what you guys do.

Scott Mason:
No, I appreciate that and I thank you for telling that story. You know, I think as with anything, people connect with our mission because of stories like you just shared. They either have a personal experience with it or they have a family member or a sister or a brother. It’s not just, you know, it’s not just women that are victims, although that is the that is those when we speak about it, that is the higher statistics. So that is that is what we speak about in market too, for the most part. But, you know, people are feel connected to our mission because of exactly that. They they usually have some sort of experience or memory with it. So I appreciate you sharing that.

Lee Wochner:
To what degree do you think, following up on the story I just shared, to what degree do you think is alcohol or drugs part of this?

Scott Mason:
Sure, it’s a common question. So usually when we’re working with survivors and victims and when we’re talking about education, providing education as well, a lot of people will say, you know, he only does it when he’s drunk, you know, or when he’s been drinking.

Lee Wochner:
Well, that makes it okay.

Scott Mason:
Yeah, and so a lot of times it is a way for us to reconcile in our head that alcohol is the problem. A lot of times when you start talking about power and control and other elements of power and control outside of alcoholism or substance abuse, you really begin to uncover that, power and control was always there, but alcohol certainly lowers our ambitions. And the most practical way that I can explain it is, you know, an abuser may be hanging out drunk with friends, family, coworkers, and there’s not violence. It’s fun and games, and that drunk individual will choose to be abusive to their partner. So that right there can kind of help remove like, it’s an alcohol issue. No, it’s not an alcohol issue. It’s actually a power and control issue.

Lee Wochner:
Hmm. So, so let’s back up a little bit. How did Rosebrook Center get started?

Scott Mason:
You know, it started in 1978 from a group of concerned community members and it started as a hotline. So really it started as noticing that there were women in the community that needed a resource. And so we started as a hotline in 1978 and then in 1979 we opened our first domestic violence shelter. There was a woman in the community, her name was Rosa Brooks. And she was well known for taking homeless individuals, unhoused individuals into her home. And she had noticed that the women that were coming to her home that were unhoused and homeless, it was because of domestic violence. And so when she passed away, her family left her home to be the first shelter. they called her Rose. So that’s our namesake, Rosebrook Center.

Lee Wochner:
What sort of cases do you guys see at Rosebrook Center?

Scott Mason:
You know, we are known for an emergency shelter, so we provide emergency services in regards to shelters. So in shelter, those are probably the most lethal, if you will, the most likely of being killed by their partners. And so those are the ones who need immediate services. And so those are adults and children, and they can bring their pets with them, which is kind of unique. And so in shelter, that’s what we see. We see those that are really at the highest level of safety issues. And then beyond that, have countless community services. So that’s where we serve most of our individuals is in the community.

Lee Wochner:
It’s great that you take in the pets too because they are family members.

Scott Mason:
Yeah, statistically it is true. Like most individuals will, I mean, I know that I, you know, we wouldn’t leave our pets behind, you know? And a lot of times pets are used as a way to control. And so, you know, I’ll harm the pet, I’ll kill the pet if you leave, so forth and so on. So a lot of people just won’t leave without their pets. And so in 2012, we actually, added a pet shelter to our facility.

Lee Wochner:
When I was a boy dogs had names like Rover or fluffy and now they have names my brother’s dog is named Herman and We had a dog named Mike So they’re just like substitute people members of the family

Scott Mason:
That’s right. Yeah, my cat’s name was Kevin, so I get it.

Lee Wochner:
And we work with some folks working on the housing crisis here in Southern California. And when they’re able to transition somebody into housing and off the street, they let them bring the pet because without the pet, mean, nobody’s a bit, with of any character is abandoning a pet. So that’s really important. And hats off to you.

Scott Mason:
Yeah, and it’s really changed the way that we can talk about our services as well. I mean, it’s a really difficult subject to talk about and it makes a lot of people uncomfortable talking about violence in the home. But when you add a pet into that situation, begins to, know, folks can then begin to understand a little bit more. it makes it, you know, it just adds another layer of us being able to connect to our constituents.

Lee Wochner:
So when an individual comes to you who’s living in a situation of domestic abuse, domestic violence, what’s your process like? What happens from there?

Scott Mason:
Yeah, there’s most individuals connect to us through our hotline. We answer. We answer around 12 ,000 hotline calls a year, which seems astronomical, but that is how many we answer. And so most individuals connect to us through that. And so they’ll connect to us through our services. But regardless of where they connect to us from, whether it’s the hotline in the hospital setting, in the school, in the courtrooms, or alongside the police, because we’re co -facilitated with all of those entities, an individual can only get to Rosebrook Center one way and that’s, well, we have a great partnership with the police and so the police escort them or bring them to the shelter for their own safety.

Lee Wochner:
Is it different? Is the process different for a family? Let’s say a mother with children rather than an individual.

Scott Mason:
Sure, yeah, it can be a little bit more complex for sure. Anytime that you include children. Sometimes what will happen is a mom will say, I’ll come into shelter, you my children can stay with my sister, my aunt, my mom, whatever and then they’ll bring the children in the next day or the day after that. I think sometimes parents are a little apprehensive, not knowing what to expect. I mean, that does happen, but to your point, it can be a little bit more complex. The process is exactly the same. It’s just we really leave that up to the survivor what they want.

Lee Wochner:
I would think, boy, if you were in this situation and you had kids, and maybe you can clarify this for me, and they were gonna go stay with grandma or an aunt, wouldn’t the father just go find them there?

Scott Mason:
Yeah, mean, that’s, so we’ll safety plan with every single individual that we interact with. That’s part of the safety plan. So, and we’ll talk them through that. But we also are really big components on voice and choice. And so it’s really, really important to us for survivors that use our services, they’ve been told what to do from their partner, most of their relationship. So we implement kind of that voice and choice right away. And even though we’ll talk about the risks and what it involves and safety plan with them and make sure that it’s safe, we’ll ultimately give them the voice and choice.

Lee Wochner:
What’s a safety plan? I think I can imagine, but let’s hear so we know for sure. What’s a safety plan?

Scott Mason:
Sure, a safety plan is a it’s very personal to that individual so it can include everything from you walking them through important documents. Do you have copies of birth certificates and driver’s license? a lot of times when we say to plan with somebody who calls our hotline, it’s because they’re still in that relationship with that abusive partner. So we’ll talk them through, who have you disclosed? Who safe can you disclose to at work? Who safe can you disclose to in your life? Are there extra set of keys that you can give? Can you start putting money or keeping money at a friend’s house. So those kind of logistical things because a lot of those things keep individuals from leaving an abusive relationship. So we’ll talk them through that and then we’ll talk them through just really safe numbers to call, resources, safe and honestly a safety plan can also include you know if you’re still in a relationship where safe places in your home if it begins to escalate where can you kind of navigate so that there’s always an exit. Kitchen is not a good place to fight because there’s usually weapons in the kitchen. So I mean, it can get really detailed. It just really depends on who we’re talking to.

Lee Wochner:
What does your role involve at Rose Brooks?

Scott Mason:
Sure, so I’m a member of a seven member development team. So marketing is under development. so primarily our job is fundraising. We’re anywhere from a nine to $10 million annual fundraising. And so we have three grant writers, a chief development officer, an events manager and then data management and myself. So my role is really to provide stewardship to our relationships with all of those entities. So whether they’re funders, individual donors, or survivors and victims or in the community. So that’s one arm of it. And then the other arm is everything that you would traditionally think about with marketing. It’s our website, it’s our social media, it’s newsletters, it’s direct mail, all of those off of, it’s Brandon voice.

Lee Wochner:
How did you get involved in this work?

Scott Mason:
Well, I was working at Sprint and telecommunications and I had been there for a very long time and had a great career. And I decided that I wanted to start volunteering just to get outside of my cubicle. And I literally, remember Googling volunteer, Kansas city and Rose Books was the first thing that popped up.

Lee Wochner:
Yeah, of course.

Scott Mason:
And I read the mission and I grew up in a violent home and so it immediately spoke to me and so I reached out to them and started volunteering and after a year of volunteering I resigned from Sprint and came to work at Rosebrook’s full -time in direct service. So I started out just providing direct service to the hospitals.

Lee Wochner:
So let’s talk about marketing for a few minutes. How do you help people suffering from domestic abuse, domestic violence, how do you help them learn about your programs?

Scott Mason:
Yeah, it’s mostly through our community resources. So we have community partnerships with several systems in the city, and that includes the police department, the hospitals. We’re in about 14 different hospital systems in Kansas City, including hospitals and clinics, and then about 30 something schools in Jackson County, pre -K through high school, and then in the court systems. And so a lot of our interaction and marketing to individuals, people that interact with those systems. Here in Kansas City, if you go to the doctor, you’re gonna be asked if you feel safe at home. And if the answer to that is no, then they’ll connect you with somebody from Rosebrook Center or provide you literature. And so that is one way that we provide that education. Obviously the other is our website and Google grants and Google ads and social media. And then honestly having the best possible relationship with our local media as possible for that more broad message.

Lee Wochner:
How do you, and how do you reach out to donors? Are donors getting the same sorts of messages as other folks?

Scott Mason:
They are. So donors, and we have an extensive direct mail program. So donors are getting information via direct mail. we a few years ago, and we approve, even though we use a vendor for that, I approve all the messaging for direct mail. And we, a few years ago, started adding in domestic violence resources and education specific to Rose Brooks within those direct emails as well, which has been fantastic. And so we’ll provide education about safety plans and our website so that they can go and check out a safety plan. Because when we’re doing prospecting, we’re sending that to 150 ,000 new homes. And so we want that information to get to them. So direct mail is a big piece of that with donors still do a printed newsletter and it still performs very very well for us. So any donor that has given us a dollar or more in the last 36 months they’re gonna get a newsletter in the mail when we do those three times a year and they’re just program updates and know happenings and new information about Rosebrook Center.

Lee Wochner:
Well, you brought up a dollar and I love that. I totally love that. I’m a fan of a dollar or $3 or whatever. And now I’m going to date myself. 25 years ago when I was running a nonprofit, one of the nonprofits I’ve run, my thing was if you gave us a dollar, I would list you in the program. If we were doing an event and there was a program, you were listed and it meant so much. And I used to send out a $10 fundraising send us $10, you might lose $10, you might spend $10 on a pizza or a bad haircut, but when you send us $10, we’ll make use of it. And one day I opened an envelope and there was $1 ,000 in there, somebody who just liked the letter and was delighted to be asked. And the next envelope, there were four $1 bills. And I knew the person who sent it and I was surprised that he was able to scrape together $4. But he wanted to be in that program and he wanted to do something and I still think about him sent us $4.

Scott Mason:
Yeah, that’s incredible. I like it.

Lee Wochner:
And you never know where people will go. when I was running my theater company, there was somebody who wanted to work in the booth. I mean, what a thankless job, working in the booth and running all the lights and sounds. One night I had to do that myself because somebody no -showed and it was the most terror -stricken night of my life. And I only had one cue, because I’m hopeless at things like that. And I think I almost got that cue right. But somebody wanted to learn that and we trained her and she wound up being board president. She became an active volunteer donor. I mean, she was a well -paid white collar professional. We had no idea and she became board president, but she loved to work in the

Scott Mason:
That is what it’s all about. That’s what stewardship is all about. And that’s exactly why the stewardship piece of what we do is so important. As a matter of fact, I think one of our mailings is a penny or more donors get the information. because those donors can turn into, we have over a thousand volunteers every year and we put a dollar amount to that the funds that they’re saving us and it is absolutely substantial. so whether you’re a dollar donor or not, those are gonna turn into something. It’s important.

Lee Wochner:
I take all the little amounts of money seriously as well. And one story I’ve told a jillion times is some years ago, I had lunch with a billionaire, a really nice guy, really sweet guy from Colorado. And on the way out to the car, he’s getting in his car, I’m gonna get in mine. And on the way out to the car in the parking lot, he found a penny and he stooped and picked it up and put it in his pocket. And I told my kids that story. I tell everybody that story. It’s like he lost money picking up that penny, but you gotta treat money right.

Scott Mason:
That’s right. That’s a great story.

Lee Wochner:
Yeah, right. So you brought up the printed newsletter and that was going to be one of my questions. So you offer, just so people can understand, right? Why do you offer an email newsletter and also a printed newsletter? Why both?

Scott Mason:
You know, I think it’s just, I mean, the easy answer to that is it’s both of those channels are important to us. So we have some individuals that absolutely still love, I met with a donor a few weeks ago and she’s a major donor and every time she asked me to for coffee, she usually, you know, brings a check, which is wonderful and heartwarming. And this last time she brought our printed newsletter and she opened it up and she said, I just love getting these. And I was like, I know you do. You know, it’s just, it’s fun to read. So that’s mostly why we do it. mean, individuals love getting something in the mail and we don’t do an ask in that newsletter. So even though we have a remit slip in there and those newsletters, you know, perform, you know, six figures for us every single year. But we don’t do a remit. I mean, we don’t do an ask, a formal ask in those newsletters, but people give through them because they’re, they’re moved by them. They like what they’ve read. So that’s why we still do it. And then some people just love getting just an email. And so the channel that we prefer to use for them.

Lee Wochner:
And also I would think you’re serving different audiences. mean, there’s probably some overlap, but I mean, we’re, we’re well aware of, clients and organizations we talk to that have massive snail mail lists, print mail and they don’t, they’ve never moved over to email, which is astounding when you think about it in 2024. And we don’t want to shut off their preexisting, program that’s working. We just want to create the email one as well, because we know that’ll perform too for different people in different ways.

Scott Mason:
Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, since that market is for donors zero to 36 months, and most of those donors have come to us either through direct mail or events or in a community event. And so what we have for them is their mailing address. That’s what we have. And so that’s how we’re going to then get more information in their mailboxes about who we are and the services that we provide. It’s an important part.

Lee Wochner:
Does one of these programs perform better, email versus print and mail?

Scott Mason:
Print and Mail still provides substantially better.

Lee Wochner:
Is it because you have an older demographic supporting

Scott Mason:
I think that is an element of it, but surprisingly, now the only time that that’s different is at the end of the year. So end of year giving, I mean, for the last two months, it’s online donations are crazy. and so that’s, you know, people will use that channel to make a donation because they’re like, I have to get my donation by the end of the year. and so they’ll use online for that. But surprisingly, our donors, like I said, they’ve come to us through events and things like that. They don’t always track older demographic. But surprisingly, that’s how they give. Now, we do make sure that we track those donors. So if they get a newsletter and they scan the QR code on the newsletter and give online, we’ll count that as a newsletter. So. You know, I don’t have those numbers in front of me, but yeah, they definitely skip. They definitely do some channel jumping there at the very end. Yep.

Lee Wochner:
Sure. How else do you help people learn about Rosebrook Center? Anything else?

Scott Mason:
So we have two events every year. One is a big cabaret event. We usually have an entertainer from Broadway. And that’s mostly corporate giving. And then we have a Safe Futures Brunch, which is a free event. And so we just recruit table hosts. And then they invite their friends and families and colleagues. And then we introduce them to Rose Brooks that way. And so it’s not really a fundraiser necessarily, but it’s more of advocacy just to get more voices out there on our behalf. So events are a big part of what we do to get our name out there.

Lee Wochner:

We’re gonna take a short break here, but when we come back, Scott and I will be talking about what you should do if you find yourself or others facing domestic abuse. Stick around.

Jaclyn Uloth:
If you’re wondering if email marketing is still worth your time and effort — you can stop. It is. Despite the rise of social media and other digital marketing channels, email remains a highly effective way to reach your audience. With email, you can deliver personalized, targeted messages directly to your subscribers, boosting engagement, donations, and awareness. And with email automation, you can save time and streamline your marketing efforts. It’s a great way to stay connected with your constituents, learn more about them, and grow your organization, so: say YES to the power of email marketing.

If you’re wondering how to get started or up your email game, give us a call. We’re always happy to help.

Lee Wochner:
And we’re back with Scott Mason, Director of Stewardship and Marketing for the nonprofit Rosebrook Center, which works to break the cycle of domestic violence. Scott, one of the things I noticed on your website, rosebrooks.org, it has a quick exit button. Now, I think I can imagine, but why do you have a quick exit button on your website?

Scott Mason:
Yeah, we have it there for what you would imagine. if somebody, most of the visitors, when we look at analytics, most of the individuals that come to our website, they usually go, they navigate to the contact us or receive help. So a lot of folks are just Googling and they find us. So because of that, we have a quick exit button. So if you are looking at it and somebody walks into the room, you can click on that quick exit button and it will not only close, it’ll take you to, you know, weather .com, but it’ll also get rid of the previous website. So it’s just a safety measure, obviously, for those visit our website. And it’s on every page. So no matter what page you go to, it pops up every single time you go to a new page. And we’ve done that by design.

Lee Wochner:
I was impressed by that. And then also I would assume it’s not just your abuser catching you, but also you’re at work, you’re with friends, you you want to be private about what you’re going through and try to figure out what to do about your situation. So I really applaud you. So I did a little research, sad to share, I’m sure you already know this, reports of domestic abuse are on the rise in America. Are you guys seeing more cases in recent years?

Scott Mason:
You know, it’s so difficult. That question is really difficult. Our numbers are up. A lot of times we attribute that, though, to general community awareness. So the more that we talk about it, the more that they the individuals are aware that services are available, you know, the more likelihood that they are going to reach out for services. So it’s a really difficult one. We like to think of it that way because unfortunately it’s a very big community problem in the communities that we live in. So we attribute it to that. Now during COVID, things did, that was something that we that we saw arise, individuals were trapped in their homes with their abusers. so for a short while, folks didn’t reach out because it wasn’t safe. They didn’t have the safe time to reach out. And then those numbers began to increase because the violence began to increase. hopefully it’s because of our strong efforts with community partnerships and education.

Lee Wochner:
There is overall a decrease in crime in decades. when I was a kid, I used to go to New York all the time and Times Square really was a scary jungle. And now it’s all Disney -fied and bright and clean. So, you know, no one should despair, things do get better. But at the same time, I tell my kids, we didn’t have a problem with people crash down on the sidewalk when I was a kid. And I was in a conversation with a board member of a food bank recently. And she said, a couple of years ago, they were serving 4 ,000 people a month and now they’re serving 7 ,000 people a month. So there’s definitely, I don’t know, just things have changed. And I wonder if you’ve noticed how Rosebrook’s works or the situations have changed because one of the things talk with the team at Counterintuity is a lot of the old paradigms no longer hold true. mean, you can’t say, well, this is how it’s always been anymore because things have changed deeply and rapidly and more rapidly and more deeply, deeply, I think, over the past 10, 15 years.

Scott Mason:
Yeah, for sure. know, the way that we look at services and the way that we’ve always looked at services is they are survivor and victim led. So if we are working with survivors and victims, and that’s the way all of our programming has been created through the years, we listen to them. So whatever barriers or whatever issues they’re dealing with, those are the things that we look for similarities and then we create either systems partnerships or programs to address whatever issues are going on. So our job is to remove barriers to safety for those that we serve. And a lot of times what that means is that it creates these new avenues or new ways that we have to provide services. And that’s everything from the partnerships that we have in the community with the police and the courts and the schools and the hospitals to housing, how do we tackle the need for housing because that is the issue that folks are having. And so that is how we look at providing services. We listen to them. You do have to be absolutely flexible and fluid in how you provide those services, but you have to make sure that you’re listening to them for sure.

Scott, what are the signs of domestic abuse? Like if you suspect a friend or a loved one is in this situation, how would you know and should you do anything? Is there something you should

Scott Mason:
Yeah, think, you know, there are, there are signs and we’ll, we’ll talk through when we provide education for the community as well. The problem, it’s not a problem. It’s just that, you know, relationships are completely complex and especially when it comes to domestic violence or any sort of abuse that’s happening inside of the home or unhealthy behavior, that is, it’s, it’s very secretive. So it’s difficult for victims and survivors to disclose first of all. And a lot of times what will happen is they’re met with disbelief because sometimes a victim or survivor will disclose something that’s going on in their relationship and then have a little bit of a guilt and shame and then back off of that. so it…it can appear as if they’re not telling the truth, where the reality is they’re telling the truth. They’re just testing the waters to see how much they can share to see how an individual is gonna respond. But a lot of times when we talk through people, when we talk with individuals, those signs can be excessive texting, calling, extreme jealousy, you know, and the way that we describe those things in practical terms are, know, if you’re newly dating somebody and somebody starts saying, you you have a great relationship with your mother, but your partner begins to say stuff like, I don’t think your mom likes me or let’s not hang, let’s not go over to your mom’s house. And so it becomes these really clever ways to create isolation and power and you’re the only individual that that individual needs. And so it’s, you know, I wish there were an easy answer to that. It’s just that it’s such a complex thing to talk through. And but community awareness and education is where it’s at, you know, going to our website and kind of researching that if you ever feel like, you know, you’re in an abusive relationship or somebody you know is.

Lee Wochner:
If there were three changes we as a society could make that would somehow reduce the overall level of domestic violence or help us deal with it better, what do you think they would?

Scott Mason:
I think first of all, would be, this is the funder, this is the fundraiser in me. That’s right. I think making sure that we have programs that are funding for programs, that that continues. We have great federal funding and individual funding and things like that, but

Lee Wochner:
Mm -hmm. Yeah, well, go for it. Maybe somebody will respond

Scott Mason:
You know, there are a lot of unmet needs because there’s just not enough funding. So that would be number one for sure. Because it takes a lot of manpower to make sure that we’re in those systems and providing those services. And then the other piece is just general community awareness, just education. I will often tell people, know, if somebody ever discloses to you abuse, know, believe them. So that is one thing that we can do as a society is to believe the victim or survivor. And we hear that, we hear that a lot, but it’s not always an easy thing to do, but believe the victim or survivor so that there’s an element of trust so that they feel comfortable coming forward and safe coming forward.

Lee Wochner:
Is there any further advice you’d like to share with listeners?

Scott Mason:
You know, I think I just ended on it. A lot of times I will say, I will tell people to believe those that are closest in their life. And, you know, I will also say that there are lots of resources throughout our, throughout the country. And it’s often really scary to pick up a phone and call a hotline because we assume that a hotline is for individuals who are not like us. But it’s really important to use those resources. Our hotline is for you have a question about your friend who you think is in an abusive relationship, or our hotline is for the individual who just has questions about their own relationship. It does not mean shelter. It does not mean that you have to commit to anything. I mean, it’s purely there as a resource so that you can get the help that you need.

Lee Wochner:
That’s fantastic. And thank you for what you and Rose Brooks are doing. I mean, it’s really important. As I said at the beginning of our conversation, I’ll never forget that situation that I saw when I was a teenager. And I was never invited back. And I know why. Because I was close friends with that boy. But I happened to be there when that was going on. And I do count my blessings, because I’ve never been in a situation like that in the household I grew up in or with my own family and kids, none of that. Whereas, when you’re in the cycle of abuse, I mean, it can be hard to break out of that. So thank you for all the work you’re doing

Scott Mason:
No, I truly appreciate that. And I really do mean, it means something when you share stories like that. I think all of our voices matter when it comes to this issue, because like I said, it’s such a big family secret. The more that we talk about it and the more that we’re aware that it happens, the more that people will feel comfortable coming forward. So I appreciate that.

Lee Wochner:
What’s the best way for people to connect with you if they just wanna reach out or if they wanna learn more about Rose Brooks and your work?

Scott Mason:
Yeah, obviously any of our social channels they can reach out to. And then of course on our website there is a contact us and we receive all of those. reach out via social or website for sure. And of course there is always our hotline that folks can call if they need that avenue.

Lee Wochner:
We’ll put all that in the show notes. Scott, thank you again so much. Really appreciate the conversation and all the good work you’re doing.

Scott Mason:
I really appreciate it. Thank you for having us on.

Jaclyn Uloth:
Thanks for listening! We’re glad you came. That’s What C! Said is produced by Lisa Pham. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Please like and follow the show. Visit Counterintuity.com to sign up and learn more.