Arlington School & Family Magazine January/February 2016 | Page 16

Campus News

Lamar High
School
Coordinator gives
beauty to violence,
homeless victims
By Angelina Alcantar
My hands were effortlessly weaving the cloth together with my hook.
The feeling of the fabric against my hand was calming me down.
I glanced up at the rest of the girls as they were wrestling with the
material. One by one, we were going around, opening up and talking
about what had happened to us. I had been sitting here for the past
couple of days waiting for my courage to set in. Finally, it was my
turn. It was time to tell my story.

When someone is a victim of domestic violence, they must
leave everything behind and escape the abuse. “We thought
that the hats and scarves would give them at least a part of
something,” Thomas said. “If they were made by someone
who cares about them, they feel like they are wrapped in
somebody that loved them instead of somebody that is
trying to hurt them.”

SAG3 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to mentoring
young men and women on the effects of domestic violence
and the prevention of abuse in the community. Lamar High
School Testing Coordinator Tammy Thomas, founder of
SAG3, began the program to help her community reinvest
in family traditions and the importance of family values.
“We feel like if domestic violence occurs in a family, it
breaks up the family unit,” Thomas said. “And what we are
trying to do, is get that unit back together by showing value,
traditions and morals that can help keep the family together,
even through hard times.”

Family, Traditions, Values is the motto instilled in SAG3.
“With a family unit, you have strength. If you are alone,
you are very vulnerable, and anything can attack you.
The tradition is crocheting; it was passed on for years and
years. If you don’t have strong values, you can’t give back,”
Thomas said.

The mission of SAG3, named for her parents Stella and
Arthur Thomas, is to minister and empower women and
young adults in shelters and church organizations via
crocheting hats and scarves to re-establish the importan