HOPE SAVES HER

Get your tickets to the Comedy Show!

The Teal to Heal Comedy Show Join us for an inspiring evening of connection, laughter, and purpose as we gather in support of the mission of HOPE S.A.V.E.S.H.E.R.This event is more than a gathering—it’s a moment to come together as a community committed to healing, hope, and restoration for women and girls impacted by traum...

Let's Laugh & Heal Together ‼️
Join us as we celebrate Juneteenth by supporting survivors of sexual trauma and all women in crisis.
Our line up of comics are phenomenal and we want to meet you there 💐
Friday, June 19th
Chicken N Pickle - Grand Prairie
Doors open @6:30 pm

I hope you will join me at the 21st Annual Conference on Crimes Against Women. Learn about current best practices, strategies, and resources, including my session, "UNBROKEN: Resilience, Justice, and the Power to Rise " Interactive Presentation. , on how to support victims and survivors of gender-based violence. Register here for : https://cvent.me/byq2nE
Conference on Crimes Against Women

Your mind matters. 💜
Healing isn’t weakness; it’s strength.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, choose you.

💜 Teal to Heal Comedy Show 💜

Laughter that heals. Purpose that matters.

Join us this Juneteenth for a night of comedy, connection, and impact, featuring headliner Ms. Vickie.

Every ticket supports healing for women and girls.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/teal-to-heal-comedy-show

📍 Chicken N Pickle | Grand Prairie
⏰ Doors 6:30 PM | Show 7 PM

Come laugh. Come heal. Come support.

✨✨A Public Letter of Recognition, Truth, and Historical Record
Regarding the National Fight to End the R**e Kit Backlog and the Legacy of Lavinia B. Masters ✨✨
To Whom It May Concern,
As conversations continue to grow around the national movement to end the r**e kit backlog, I believe it is important to respectfully and truthfully preserve the historical timeline of those whose voices helped bring this issue from silence into public awareness.
This letter is not written to diminish, discredit, or compete with the work of any organization, advocate, or movement that has contributed to ending the backlog of untested sexual assault kits across this country. Rather, it is written to ensure that the role of Texas—and the work of Dr. Lavinia B. Masters—is acknowledged as part of that history.
Long before the passage of HB 8, known as the "Lavinia Masters Act", Dr. Lavinia B. Masters was speaking publicly, nationally, and courageously about the devastating impact of untested r**e kits and delayed justice for survivors.
In 2009, Lavinia Masters received national media attention when her story was featured by CNN, helping expose the emotional and systemic harm caused by r**e kits sitting untested for decades. Her story was publicly discussed in national coverage during that period, bringing visibility to a crisis that many Americans had not yet fully understood.
Her advocacy did not begin with legislation—it began with lived experience.
After learning that her own sexual assault kit remained untested for more than two decades, Lavinia Masters transformed pain into public service. She became one of the earliest survivor voices in Texas, openly speaking about the consequences of delayed forensic testing, broken systems, and the need for DNA accountability.
Her work was grounded in understanding the national framework already in place through the Debbie Smith Act, which created federal funding pathways to reduce DNA backlogs and support forensic reform nationwide. Lavinia understood that funding existed—but awareness, urgency, and accountability were still missing.
Because of her persistence and survivor-centered advocacy, she was invited to The United States Department of Justice in 2010 to share her lived experience and discuss solutions related to r**e kit reform and survivor justice.
She was also later invited to the Joyful Heart Foundation to contribute her survivor perspective, insight, and ideas surrounding efforts to End the Backlog. Her voice was part of a larger national dialogue that recognized survivors must not only be spoken for—they must be seated at the table.
Throughout her advocacy journey, Lavinia Masters worked alongside lawmakers across party lines. She toured and collaborated with leaders, including John Cornyn, Lisa Madigan (former Illinois Atty Gen), and Senator Wendy Davis, more to raise awareness, discuss reform, and amplify the urgency of addressing untested kits and survivor rights.
Her advocacy also helped shape federal thinking around reform.
The SAFER Act, championed by former Congressman and Judge Ted Poe, emerged during a period when survivor stories like Lavinia Masters’ revealed the national scope of backlog failures. The SAFER Act became instrumental in helping jurisdictions inventory and address untested kits nationwide.
Lavinia Masters was not simply part of the movement.
She was among the first survivor advocates from Texas to consistently and publicly connect the dots between trauma, evidence, DNA testing, policy failure, and survivor justice.
Her advocacy predates the 2019 passage of the Lavinia Masters Act, legislation that strengthened accountability around sexual assault evidence collection, testing timelines, retention, and survivor protections. The law itself was born from years of work, not a single moment.
Texas deserves recognition for the leadership it demonstrated.
And Lavinia Masters deserves recognition for the courage it took to stand publicly, long before national attention made this issue widely known.
This is not about ownership of a movement.
It is about honoring historical truth.
It is about ensuring that when future generations discuss how r**e kit reform became a national issue, they understand that survivors like Lavinia Masters were among the voices who carried this burden before it became a headline, before it became legislation, and before many institutions fully understood the depth of the crisis.
Credit matters.
History matters.
And acknowledging one survivor’s contribution does not take away from another—it strengthens the integrity of the movement itself.
Respectfully,
Dr. Lavinia B. Masters
Survivor • Advocate • Speaker • Policy Changemaker
Founder, Hope S.A.V.E.S.HER
Namesake of the Lavinia Masters Act - Texas Women's Hall of Fame
“Empathy First. Justice Always.”
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavinia_Masters... "Lavinia Masters"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Smith_Act... "Debbie Smith Act"
[3]: https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/.../cornyn-op-ed-texas.../... "Cornyn Op-Ed: Texas Has the Tools to End the R**e Kit ..."
[4]: https://ovc.ojp.gov/.../award.../2020/lavinia-b-masters... "Lavinia B. Masters | Special Courage Award" https://youtu.be/4ODM3zG9Mxk?si=sCqTWwfzhLOHQpNu

Dr. Lavinia B. Masters 9 likes, 4 comments. "2009 17 11 Lavinia Masters CNN"

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Meet the Co-Founders 💜

Two stories. One mission.

What started from pain turned into purpose, and now we’re creating spaces where women can heal, be heard, and rise.

This is HOPE S.A.V.E.S.H.E.R.

www.hopesavesher.com

Get ready for a night where laughter meets healing and purpose 💜

We’re turning up the energy this Juneteenth with a NEW comedian added to the lineup, join us in welcoming the hilarious Lasonya Witt to the stage! 🔥

And you already know… the stage will be set on fire with our headliner, the one and only Ms. Vickie 👑, bringing the kind of comedy that heals, uplifts, and leaves you in tears (the good kind!).

This isn’t just a comedy show…
It’s a movement of laughter, freedom, and restoration.

🎟️ Come laugh.
💜 Come heal.
✊🏾 Come celebrate Juneteenth with purpose.

Get your tickets

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/teal-to-heal-comedy-show

Mental health matters 💜

Let’s break the stigma, show up for one another, and choose healing together.

Support starts here: www.hopesavesher.com