One Love Foundation: Senior Gina Mellish’s Mission to ‘Love Better’

Domestic Violence Awareness Month calls for reviewing the signs of an unhealthy relationship

Love is one of the most important values in our lives, but we aren’t taught nearly enough about it. We’re told how to ride a bike and how to tie our shoes, but nobody really teaches us how to love. One Love Foundation’s mission is meant to change that. 

“Domestic violence is a topic that is known but not talked about enough. It’s not always about full fledged abuse,” said Gina Mellish, a Marist senior and representative for the foundation. “The little things that lead up to something like emotional or physical abuse are what I want young people to learn about.”

One Love educates young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships by empowering them to identify abuse. Mellish has partnered with the foundation to spread awareness about domestic violence abuse — and to use her platform as a college student to educate her community on avoiding harmful relationships.

As a result of her own struggle with an unhealthy relationship, Mellish reached out to One Love for help. After attending a One Love workshop, she promised herself that she would help others in unhealthy relationships after fully healing herself. Now she’s done just that. 

Gina Mellish

“I want young people to understand that we don't have to be dealing with unhealthy relationships. I want to teach people how to love better,” Mellish said.

As a trained facilitator, Mellish teaches people about the signs of unhealthy and healthy relationships. Anyone who is searching for help or wants to play their part in helping those dealing with domestic violence can participate in an escalation training workshop. 

At the start of the workshop, Mellish provides resources for anyone who feels like they need help. The foundation requires her to be trained in giving advice, as well as providing further resources that are on and off campus. “It is an all around guide for people who want to help themselves and others,” Mellish said. 

According to One Love Foundation, “Over one in three women and nearly one in four men will be in an abusive relationship.” Females aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 generally experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. 

This means that domestic violence is very much an issue affecting college students. As a facilitator, Mellish feels a responsibility to put herself out there and help others notice the early signs of relationship abuse. 

The escalation training itself consists of an intense 35 minute video that guides you through a relationship between two college students. Subtle signs of physical and emotional abuse begin to appear and the relationship soon turns into full-blown domestic violence. 

The video is parallel to the story of a young woman, Yeardly Love, who was killed by her boyfriend after being in an unhealthy relationship. It is the reason why One Love Foundation began. Love’s mother founded the organization to educate people on how to avoid situations like these. 

After the video is played, a discussion panel takes place in which people are able to talk through the behaviors in the video and how to avoid or get help in those situations. 

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Mellish is going to be hosting her own escalation training workshop on Oct. 30 at 11:30 A.M. in the Student Center. RSVP with the Title IX office to attend. 

Her goal with this workshop is to “create a safe and comfortable space to advise Marist students on the signs of relationship abuse and teach them how to love better,” she said.

Counseling services and the Title IX office will be present at the workshop and available to anyone who needs to talk or wants guidance. 

Although domestic violence is a disheartening topic, Mellish wants this to be a positive experience. “I want to make this a self love event,” she said.

“I want to be a voice for people who feel like they don’t have one or are scared to speak up,” said Mellish, who is also competing in the Miss NJ USA pageant in November. “I am lucky enough to reach people with my large social media following. I want to take this issue to a state level and possibly a national level to raise awareness about an issue that is so prominent.” 

One Love Foundation provides support and help to those experiencing domestic violence and those who want to help. Mellish is just one of many facilitators and you can be the next to raise awareness about the issue and help guide someone through a difficult time in their life. 

With a little more knowledge on healthy relationships and what love means, we can all be a step closer to knowing how to love better. 

For more information on One Love Foundation visit joinonelove.org.