Transitions in Zanesville

06/12/2026

Did you miss our Panera fundraiser this past Monday? No worries; you still have two more chances to support Transitions, Inc. this month! 💜

🍔 June 15 at Applebee's (All Day)
🥡 June 24 at Panda Express (10:00 AM–9:30 PM)

Simply grab a meal, mention the fundraiser (or use the fundraiser code where applicable), and a portion of your purchase will help provide shelter, advocacy, and support services for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.

Support survivors. Eat good food. Everybody wins. 💜

Stay tuned for event reminders and details for each fundraiser!

06/12/2026

June is Internet Safety Month, a great time to talk with the kids in our lives about staying safe online.

The internet can be an amazing place to learn, connect, and have fun, but it's important for children and teens to understand how to protect their personal information, recognize unsafe situations, and know who to turn to if something doesn't feel right.

Whether it's setting privacy settings, being cautious about who they talk to online, or understanding that not everyone is who they claim to be, open conversations can make a big difference.

Looking for resources to help start those conversations? Check out NetSmartz from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. They offer age-appropriate videos, activities, and tools for children, teens, parents, caregivers, and educators.

🔗 https://ncmec.org/netsmartz/home

A few minutes spent talking about online safety today can help create safer online experiences tomorrow. 💻🛡️

Thanks to our amazing supporters, we’ve reached our $100,000 match goal! But there’s still more to do—join us in protecting children and supporting our mission.

06/08/2026

Today's the day! Raise Some Dough for Transitions, Inc.! 💜

Still wondering what you'll have for dinner? Coffee? A pastry run? We’ve got you covered! Stop by Panera today from 4:00–8:00 PM and 25% of your purchase will help support survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking in our community.

📍 Panera – 3780 Frazeysburg Rd, Zanesville
☕ Dine In
🚗 Drive-Thru
📦 Pick-Up
🚙 Delivery

Ordering online? Don’t forget to use promo code: FUND4U

Tag your lunch buddy, coworker, or dinner crew and help us turn a meal into meaningful impact today. 💜

06/02/2026

A newly released report from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office takes a closer look at individuals arrested for purchasing s*x in Ohio and the consequences they face.

One message is clear: demand drives trafficking.

For too long, the focus has been placed on victims and survivors. But commercial s*xual exploitation and trafficking exist because there are people willing to pay for access to another human being. Reducing demand is a critical part of preventing human trafficking.

The report found that while arrests and prosecutions of s*x buyers have increased, penalties often remain minimal, and educational interventions such as "john school" are not consistently enforced. Read the full release here: https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/June-2026/Yost-Issues-First-Ever-Statewide-Report-on-Sex-Buy

At Transitions, we believe that ending human trafficking requires a community-wide response that includes survivor support, prevention education, accountability for offenders, and addressing the systems that allow exploitation to continue.

If you suspect human trafficking:
📞 Call 844-END-OHHT (844-363-6448)
📱 Text ENDOHHT to 847411

Learn the signs. Start the conversation. Help end exploitation.

05/31/2026

Mark your calendars because June is packed with ways to support Transitions, Inc. while enjoying some great food! 💜

We’ve partnered with local restaurants for three Dine to Donate fundraisers, giving you multiple opportunities to grab a meal and help support survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking in our community.

🥗 June 8 at Panera Bread | 4:00–8:00 PM
🍔 June 15 at Applebee’s | All Day
🥡 June 24 at Panda Express | 10:00 AM–9:30 PM

Every meal purchased helps support services like:
🏠 Emergency shelter
📞 24/7 crisis response
⚖️ Advocacy and support services
💜 Safety, healing, and hope for survivors

Whether you join us for one event or all three, your support truly makes a difference. Invite your family, coworkers, friends, church groups, and lunch buddies and help us turn meals into meaningful impact.

Because at Transitions, every number has a name.

💜

05/31/2026

She sat in the parking lot for almost an hour before walking in.
The car was barely running. The gas light had been on for two days. There were french fries smashed into the backseat floorboard, a diaper bag packed in a trash bag because she didn’t have luggage, and a little girl asleep in the back holding a stuffed rabbit by one ear.
She almost drove away three different times.
Because leaving sounds brave when people talk about it afterward.
But in the moment?
It feels terrifying.
She stared at the building and thought about everything she was leaving behind.
Not just him.
The house.
The routine.
The version of him she kept hoping would come back.
The life she spent years trying to fix.
The family photos where everyone smiled.
The future she promised her kids they’d have.
People think survivors leave because they stop loving someone.
Sometimes they leave while still loving them deeply.
That’s what makes it hurt so much.
The night before, he had screamed at her because dinner was cold.
Their son accidentally spilled juice at the table, and the entire room went silent because everyone knew what came next.
Not yelling.
That would’ve been easier.
It was the look.
The one that made everybody hold their breath.
Her little boy immediately started apologizing before anyone even spoke.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up.”
Six years old.
Already learning how to make himself small.
Later that night, while putting him to bed, he whispered:
“Mommy… is he mad at me still?”
And something inside her shattered.
Because children should worry about cartoons and scraped knees and what snack they’re getting tomorrow.
Not whether a grown man is angry enough to hurt somebody.
She stayed awake the entire night staring at the ceiling.
Listening to him snore beside her while her mind replayed every excuse she’d ever made for him.
“He had a hard childhood.”
“He’s stressed.”
“He didn’t mean it.”
“He’s trying.”
“At least it’s not as bad as it used to be.”
But then another thought hit her so hard she couldn’t breathe:
“What if my children grow up believing this is what love looks like?”
That question changed everything.
So the next morning, while he was at work, she packed quietly.
No dramatic movie moment.
No screaming.
No revenge.
Just shaking hands trying to find birth certificates while praying he didn’t come home early.
Her daughter asked:
“Are we in trouble?”
And she smiled through tears and said:
“No baby. We’re getting safe.”
When they got to the shelter parking lot, she almost couldn’t get out of the car.
Because abuse convinces you that you can’t survive without the person hurting you.
It convinces you nobody will help.
Nobody will believe you.
Nobody will want you after everything you’ve been through.
But eventually she opened the door.
A tiny little brave moment that probably looked ordinary to everybody else.
Months later, her son spilled juice again.
This time he froze for a second out of instinct.
His little body tensed waiting for someone to explode.
But nobody yelled.
Nobody slammed fists.
Nobody called him stupid.
And after a few seconds, he looked up confused while she grabbed paper towels and said:
“It’s okay baby. Accidents happen.”
And that little boy started crying.
Not because of the spill.
Because for the first time in a long time, he realized home finally felt safe.
That’s the part people don’t talk about enough.
Leaving doesn’t just save survivors.
Sometimes it saves the children quietly watching everything too.

05/30/2026

At first, nobody would’ve called it abuse.
He brought her coffee every morning. Opened doors. Posted her online with captions about “protecting his family.” If she went out with friends, he’d text asking when she’d be home because he “worried.” People thought it was sweet.
She thought it was love.
Then little things started changing.
He didn’t like one friend because she was “a bad influence.” Another one “didn’t respect their relationship.” Eventually it became easier not to go out at all because every time she did, it turned into a fight that lasted for hours.
He started checking her phone “because couples shouldn’t have secrets.”
Started asking why she took so long at the grocery store.
Started accusing her of cheating if she wore makeup.
Started reminding her how “lucky” she was that he stayed with her despite her flaws.
By then, she apologized for things she didn’t even do automatically.
The first time he put his hands on her, it wasn’t some dramatic movie scene.
It was over cold french fries.
She laughed at something on TV while he was angry, and suddenly his hand slammed the plate off the counter so hard it shattered across the kitchen floor. He grabbed her arm hard enough to leave fingerprints and screamed inches from her face while their toddler cried from the living room.
Then he cried.
That’s the part people don’t understand.
He cried harder than she did.
Said he was stressed.
Said he had trauma.
Said he’d never do it again.
Said she was the only good thing in his life.
And she believed him because monsters aren’t monsters all the time.
Sometimes they’re the person rubbing your back afterward while you cry.
Over time, the rules multiplied.
Don’t talk too loud.
Don’t spend too much money.
Don’t disagree with him in public.
Don’t mention what happens at home.
Don’t make him angry.
Don’t cry because that “manipulates” him.
Don’t leave because nobody else would want a single mom with baggage.
Eventually she stopped recognizing herself.
She used to laugh loudly.
Now she measured every word before speaking.
She used to love music.
Now silence felt safer.
She used to dream about the future.
Now she just tried to survive the night without another hole punched through the wall.
The worst night happened after she finally said she wanted to leave.
Not because she screamed it.
Not because she threatened him.
She said it quietly while folding laundry.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
That sentence changed everything.
He blocked the doorway so she couldn’t leave the bedroom.
Took her phone.
Told her if she tried to take the kids he’d make sure she never saw them again.
Told her nobody would believe her because he was “the calm one.”
When she tried to move past him, he shoved her into the dresser hard enough to split her lip.
Their daughter saw it.
That’s what broke her.
Not the bruises.
Not the years of fear.
Not the isolation.
The look on her little girl’s face while hiding in the hallway clutching a stuffed animal.
Because suddenly she realized:
her daughter was learning what love looked like from this.
The next morning she wore long sleeves.
Covered the bruise with makeup.
Packed lunches.
Smiled at school drop off.
And nobody knew she had spent the night sitting on the bathroom floor trying to figure out if leaving was more dangerous than staying.
That’s the reality people miss.
Domestic violence usually doesn’t start with black eyes.
It starts with control.
Isolation.
Fear.
Walking on eggshells.
Slowly becoming smaller and smaller until you don’t recognize yourself anymore.
And the most dangerous time for a survivor is often when they try to leave.

05/29/2026

I learned early how to tell what kind of night it was going to be just by the sound of the front door opening.
Some nights were quiet.
Some nights meant pretending to be asleep before footsteps reached the hallway.
Some nights meant turning the TV louder so my little sibling wouldn’t hear the yelling downstairs.
I became really good at watching people’s faces. Listening to tone changes. Knowing when to stay out of the way. Knowing when Mom’s smile was fake. Knowing when Dad was angry before he even spoke.
At school, people said I was “so mature for my age.”
What they didn’t know was that children in survival mode usually are.
Nobody teaches kids how to handle hearing someone they love cry through a bedroom wall. Nobody teaches them what to do when holes appear in doors, when police lights flash outside, or when they’re trying to finish homework while chaos fills the house.
And sometimes the hardest part wasn’t even the fighting.
It was the silence afterward.
The pretending everything was normal the next morning.
The way everyone still had to get dressed, go to work, go to school, smile at people, and act like nothing happened.
I used to think it was my job to fix it somehow. Be quieter. Behave better. Help more. Cause less stress.
But children are not responsible for the violence happening around them.
They deserve homes where they can sleep peacefully. Laugh loudly. Feel safe making mistakes. Feel safe being kids.

Domestic violence doesn’t just impact partners. Children see it. Hear it. Feel it. And those experiences can stay with them long after the yelling stops.
At Transitions, we support survivors of all ages affected by domestic violence and human trafficking because every child deserves safety, stability, and peace.
If you or someone you know needs support, we are here 24/7 for Muskingum, Perry, and Morgan counties.
📞 Hotline: 740-454-3213
📱 Textline: 740-630-4354
🌐 www.transitionszv.com 💜

05/28/2026

He sat in his truck for almost twenty minutes before making the call.
Not because he didn’t want help.
Because he didn’t know if he was “allowed” to ask for it.
People don’t talk enough about what abuse can look like when the victim doesn’t fit the picture everyone expects. The constant insults. Being told you’re worthless so many times you start believing it. Walking on eggshells in your own home. Having your phone checked. Being screamed at for talking to family. Being manipulated into thinking everything is your fault.
And maybe the hardest part of all:
Feeling embarrassed that it’s happening to you in the first place.
By the time he reached out, he had already convinced himself a hundred times that someone else “had it worse.” That maybe he was overreacting. That maybe if he just tried harder, stayed quieter, fixed one more thing, the chaos would stop.
But abuse isn’t caused by someone failing to be “good enough.”
And nobody deserves to live in fear inside their own home.
When he finally said the words out loud, his voice cracked:
“I don’t even know if this counts.”

It does.

At Transitions, we know abuse does not discriminate. It can affect anyone regardless of gender, age, background, income, or relationship status. Survivors don’t all look the same, sound the same, or have the same story. But every person deserves safety, support, and to be believed.

📞 Hotline: 740-454-3213
📱 Textline: 740-630-4354
🌐 www.transitionszv.com 💜

05/28/2026

🟣 Join us for our World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Event

Perry County residents age 60 and older are invited to receive a free financial safety support kit (while supplies last) and connect with local vendors and community partners focused on older adult safety and support. We also invite everyone to wear purple that day to show support and help raise awareness for older adult safety.

Interested in becoming a vendor at this event? Contact Wendy Winegardner, Deputy Director of Child and Adult Protective Services, at [email protected].

Let’s come together to build awareness, promote protection, and support older adults in our community.