Say Yes Initiative
The Say Yes Initiative (SYI) was born out of the Maleny Men’s Forum, which formed in 2015 as a support network for local men and boys who may be struggling to find their way.
Artist Rob Clark and his partner Robin Clayfield developed the Say Yes to Family Peace movement in response to their involvement in the local Domestic Violence Prevention Walk in 2015. See Where We Began for more on this.
SYI has successfully produced the inaugural Art for Family Peace project at the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre, completed in June 2016, as a way of engaging people in the movement. SYI aims to empower other local communities to create their own Say Yes projects, and to see the movement grow throughout Australia and the world. See Art for Peace in your town for how you can get involved.
Say Yes Initiative makes every possible effort to support other organisations, individuals and communities to spread the Say Yes to Family Peace message throughout their respective local areas.
See the Links page for services and help.
Creating a Cultural Shift:
We begin by introducing a more affirmative and balanced intention to coincide with the current cultural narrative.
The Say No to Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) campaign carries a very important message and we do understand and support the need to take a stand against unacceptable behaviour and attitudes... and once having said No, isn't it also important to ask, "What then? Where to from here? How do we best move on from a stand of just resisting violence into taking the vital steps to become active Peace Makers?".
Both the Say Yes and the Say No messages are absolutely essential, much like two sides of the same coin. To have one without the other is to only go halfway and will not get us to where we all want to go.
SYI introduces a more positive message, namely "Say YES to Peace, Safety, Harmony, Kindness, Understanding, Equality, Tenderness, Health, Acceptance, Happiness and Respect..."
We must take steps forward by learning and putting into action attitudes and behavior that lead to peace, in our own hearts first so that peace will become more and more the normal state in our homes and in our world.
The Say Yes Initiative supports and expresses our deep gratitude to all organisations and individuals who work to end violence, especially those who provide care and support for people caught up in this tragedy.
SYI also supports and endorses all programs that present effective programs that enable healing, personal growth and healthy relationships for EVERYone, not just those caught up in the drama. If you and your program fit this bill then please contact us.
See the Links page for services and help.
Our Philosophy
Based on a universal principal of what we focus on we attract, The Say Yes Initiative calls for a stronger focus on the positive to more empower the qualities of personal, domestic and family life.
See Rob's rant to hear how he views this point.
Emphasising the negative only brings on more negativity, to focus on wrong doing keeps us in a cycle of despair and hopelessness. Although these days there is an increasing awareness of DFV, the stat's show us that the current approach is not helping us take the steps toward actually creating peace and safety in our homes.
We recognise and acknowledge that the majority of us do all we possibly can to create and maintain at least some form of peace in our lives. We know that peace is at best the ideal to strive for and that it can be somewhat elusive at times.
To be a Say Yes Supporter:
Say Yes Supporters add their voice to the call for a more positive narrative.
To be a Say Yes Supporter is to affirm, to inspire, encourage, include, accept, listen and to communicate with our selves and our loved ones in positive and uplifting ways.
A Say Yes Supporter will reach out for assistance before life gets too much and will make his or her self available for others who may reach out for support.
A Say Yes Supporter takes his or her own individual responsibility for their part in conflict and by making a commitment to become more like Peace makers in every way possible.
Say Yes Supporters choose to become better communicators by actively learning peace making skills.