"she tried to get away from him several times, but couldn't"

Jenny Heeren

Jenny Heeren was an intelligent twenty nine year old, who friends say cared more than anything about her daughter Kamrie. They also say that she tried to get away from her abusive husband, Rodrick Dantzler several times. It's rumored that Jenny was leaving her husband for good this time, and that is possibly what made Dantzler snap on July 7th. He took Jenny's life, as well as their twelve year old daughter Kamrie, both Jenny's parents, as well as three others. 

These are the things that you see in movies. The things that you think, that can never happen to me. That would never happen here. The events that took place on July 7th in Grand Rapids brought domestic violence to every one's attention. 

There was an unspeakable amount of damage done, but the silver lining is that more people turned to places like Safe Haven in the days following. More people realized the situation they saw on the news might not be that far from the one they were in, and they went to get help.

We may never know what went on in Rodrick Dantzler's mind that day, or what happened between him and Jenny in the days leading up to her death. But if you or someone you know thinks that their relationship is not safe or unhealthy, they need help. And luckily, they have Safe Haven to turn to, for free confidential shelter, counseling, support groups and education about domestic violence. 


If you would like to support Safe Haven, make an online donation here, and your money will go toward helping women and children who are in abusive relationships. 

Thank you to Dean & Amy, and Heather who all donated this week! We are at $703 :)

Be the change. Make the difference.