Home Alive was a non-profit organization based in Seattle which promotes anti-violence. The organization offered self-defense classes and public education and awareness in order to reduce and prevent violence. The Home Alive group trained its own instructors. They held a range of courses including basic physical self-defense, boundary setting, and advanced multi-week courses. [1]
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Following the rape and murder of a local singer, Mia Zapata, in 1993, a number of artists and musicians within Seattle began to meet and discuss the problems of violence within the community, and the lack of available resources such as self-defense classes, which were considered impractical and somewhat unaffordable.[2]
A group of women, now recognized as the founders of the organization, pooled resources such as arts and music benefits in order to raise funds and study self-defense. Classes were provided to the community on a sliding scale basis, where no-one was turned away due to lack of funds. The group continues this work, providing classes to individuals, as before; but expanding to also educate establishments such as schools and businesses. With primary support still coming from the arts community, Home Alive continues to ground its self-defense education in a movement for social justice.
6/14/2010: The members of Home Alive’s Board of Directors, together with the instructor collective, decided in June, 2010 to close as a 501(c)(3) organization and to lay the Home Alive program dormant after 17 years in the community.
The nine women considered responsible for founding the organization were: