Ana’s Story
Transcribed from an audio interview. Responses have been edited for clarity.
My name is Ana Takacs, and I’ve been a member of the Young Professionals Board (YPB) at Day One for a little over a year now. I first heard about Day One because I was looking to find an organization to volunteer with that was focused around domestic violence. I had kind of a tough time finding somewhere here in New York at first that I could be part of more consistently. But then I came across Day One, and they had a really great opportunity to be a part of the organization in a continual way.
I think Day One provides a really unique opportunity to engage with young folks, to make them feel empowered, to make them feel heard, and to make them feel like they have an outlet. It’s a really powerful way of stopping the cycle. It all starts somewhere, so to be able to be at the origin point is really important.
Being able to help young folks when they might have nowhere else to turn and letting them know they are in control of their own actions and they do have people who care, and people who are there to help them — it’s important to be a part of that and it’s something that is really powerful. It’s amazing that it affects so many people, and that it’s local right here in New York City. It’s incredible to kind of be a part of an organization that is focusing on really bettering our community.
I think prior to Day One, I really didn’t even give the consideration of speaking to young folks about stopping the cycle of violence, though domestic violence initiatives have been a big part of my life for a long time. But Day One opened my eyes to the concept and the idea of focusing on the young folks, focusing on the school systems, and working with different communities and different organizations to try to get the word out. I think it really opened my eyes to a different way of solving the problem.
