On September 22, 2018, the 9th Annual Face Forward gala featured at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in the City of Beverly Hills, California hosted by Face Forward.
Ne-Yo (Singer / Songwriter), Blanca Blanco (Actress), Lana Parrilla (Actress), Jeezy (Rapper), AnneLynne McCord (Actress), Caitlyn Jenner (TV Personality) Maksim Chmerkovskiy (Dancing with the stars), Peta Murgatroyd (Dancing with the Stars), Brigitte Nielsen (Actress), Christine Devine (Anchorwoman Fox News), Sean McNabb (Actor), Jon Savage (Actor), Areva Martin (Author / Civic Rights Attorney), Sonika Vaid (American Idol), Laurence Rifkin (Face Forward Doctor), Kira Reed Lorsch (Actress / Emmy Winner), Christina De Rosa (Actress / Face Forward Chairman), Jay Mcgraw (Honoree), Lotte Verbeek (Actress), Sophia Hutchins (Model) and Gretchen Rossi (Actress) were among those who attended the extravagate event.
The dinner tables were set beautifully with a nice centerpieces of red roses. Guests enjoyed a fun photo booth and delicious drinks. The excellent selection of talent asked to sing was R&B Singer Ne-Yo. This year's theme was "La Dolce Vita".
The non-profit 501c (3) organization gathered many to raise funds for victims of Domestic Abuse and Human Trafficking. Face Forward mission is to provide emotional support and reconstructive surgery for women, men and children affected by domestic abuse, human trafficking or any cruel acts of crime.
Deborah Alessi founded Face Forward in 2007. She was a survivor of domestic violence. To help survivors, Mrs. Alessi recruited her husband Dr. David Alessi M.D., who is a facial reconstructive surgeon to come aboard to help those in need.
There are victims that may not afford the fees for internal or external care, so the Face Forward team raises money so they don’t have to. The event raised money for survivor treatment, recovery, providing airfare, accommodations, and all necessary medical expenses for the patient.
According to the National Statistic Domestic Violence (NCADV) on an average 20 people per minute are physically abused by a partner in the United States alone. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men had some form of abuse. An increase of domestic violence had a presence of a gun. There are many types of abuse, Rape, Stalking, homicide, children abuse, physical / mental abuse, etc. Any type of abuse may have a great impact on a person. Economic impact where the victim doesn’t go to work. Physical impact like forced intercourse which causes mental impact as well. 1 in 15 children are exposed due to violence in the home. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States have been raped in their lifetime.
Human Trafficking is also another situation that affects many. The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally, with hundreds of thousands in the United States. Human Trafficking can be defined into different categories such as Sex Trafficking and Labor Trafficking. Sex Trafficking has been found in venues within the sex industry, including brothels, escort services, fake massage businesses, strip clubs, and even street prostitution. Labor Trafficking has been found in labor settings including domestic work, small businesses, large farms and factories according to National Human Trafficking.
This event gave others the opportunity to come and enjoy a delicious meal and raise funds that will benefit a victim to get the support needed. We all have to be aware what ugliness goes on and we are grateful that Deborah Alessi and her husband contributes in helping those that do not need to be in any situation that will harm them physically and mentally.
Face Forward focuses on the healing process due to physical damage caused by harm due domestic abuse and human trafficking. They try to restore the emotional feelings and health to help the victims have a better future.