Are Moving Services Leading the Fight Against Domestic Violence?

When discussing domestic violence and women’s equality, moving services are not usually the first thing to come to mind.

However, according to Collective-Evolution, the Meathead Movers moving company is working to help women leave abusive homes at no charge.

Aaron and Evan Steed founded their moving company in 1997 in order to give themselves something to occupy their time, as well as earn some extra cash while going to school. Their starting asking price amounted to a range of $20 and a pizza, leading them to quickly accrue respectable demand.

Their work took a turn when they began to receive requests by women for moving help who were desperately trying to remove themselves from an abusive home. They were always happy to help these women with monetary compensation.

The residential movers gained more recognition for their community service in 2000 when an abuser returned home while they were in the midst of moving the woman out. Rather than letting this situation impede on their services, they rose to the challenge by partnering with a local women’s shelter.

Through their partnership, women in need are not only given help to leave these situations but are also offered counseling from the shelter. In order to ensure their safety, Meathead Movers now always have a representative from the shelter in cases that might require police intervention.

In September, they launched a campaign in an attempt to inspire other businesses to join their fight against domestic violence. Their goal is to connect 100 businesses to their initiative.

“Giving back to the community should be an important part of every local business,” says Daniel Parascand, Owner, Reliable Delivery. “At Reliable Delivery we’ve partnered up with Move for Hunger to deliver any unwanted, unopened, non-perishable food items from our customers to the San Diego Food Bank. People dispose of thousands of pounds of good food when moving for ease of packing. This is our way of helping to fight hunger in our local community.”

While the men at Meathead Movers are working hard to keep women safe, some females themselves are using moving services to empower women.

Oddity Central reports that the Van Girls business in London is the first all-female moving service in the city. Emma Lanman started the company in 2011 after quitting her job at the fire brigade.

Lanman noticed that people would get excited about female firefighters as something of a novelty because they were doing a “man’s job.”

The Van Girls gained substantial attention quickly due to plenty of women who live alone or without men and felt more comfortable with women in their home. Many assume they’re more trustworthy and can offer a more delicate hand.

“We’re an all-female household,” 68-year-old Jean Hewitson, who moved down the street with her daughter and granddaughter last year, explained. “I thought, yes I want women packing up my house. I thought they’d be more sympathetic to my belongings really, and I’d get on with them better.”

Over the past few years, their company evolved into an organization of women making a decent living using physical strength. Their employees have come from all different positions, including women who served or are serving in the Army, Royal Air Force, Metropolitan Police, Fire Brigade, and the London Ambulance Service.