Joe’s 3 Day Marathon For Domestic Abuse

My story- I’m Joe Connelly and I’m 16 years old. I’m going to be running the distance of a marathon over 3 days in July. I’m doing this in order to raise money for Refuge.org, a charity which supports families affected by domestic violence. But why this charity ? Domestic violence has massively impacted my whole family.My mum was a victim of abuse and my family were witness to this. One night a detrimental event occurred which resulted in my mum being taken to hospital with a critical injury where she made a full physical recovery, however the mental scars remain with my family and always will. This has mentally impacted me, my brother and my sister largely. For me in the past 6 years ,as I’ve grown up and been able to understand the events more , I have suffered with this massively and it will remain somewhere in my mind everyday. Despite the battle with mental health that my close family has fought , we now stand together stronger as one and with a unity like no other. I wish for no child to experience this and refuge.org ensures that mothers and children have a safe escape from domestic violence. My story is just one of millions, other people may not be so lucky in the fact that my mum is still alive today. So please let me be the voice of these unheard stories and donate to help out those like me.