MAIN SHOW_Sarah Hyland FULL ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

Transcript

00:00I am that short. Thank you so much for going down.

00:04Um, I didn't think that this would be as emotional.

00:10I love you.

00:17Um, I also want to thank Variety and Purina for this honor.

00:23October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and while it is not the easiest topic to talk about,

00:28it is of the utmost importance that we do. I have been open about my experiences as a survivor,

00:35and I want to support others in the way that Julie and all of my close ones have done for me.

00:42Accepting this award for courage has made me think a lot about what that word means to me.

00:49It takes courage to wake up every morning and face the world knowing that people may have

00:55no idea what you are going through. It is all too easy to feel isolated and misunderstood,

01:05no matter how strong you are. There was a time...

01:10There was a time where the only being that I could trust with my true feelings

01:26and felt the safest with was with my dog, Barkley. He got me through the worst years of my life,

01:34and I know I wouldn't have been able to make it out without him.

01:39That is why I am so grateful for Purina and their foundation. Purina created the Purple Leash Project

01:47in partnership with Red Rover, a non-profit that supports animals and people in crisis.

01:53Together, they're helping domestic violence shelters become pet-friendly so that domestic

01:57abuse survivors don't have to make an impossible choice between their safety and the safety of

02:04their pets. Tonight, we'd love for you to join us in supporting domestic abuse survivors at both

02:10ends of the leash. If you haven't already, please grab a card from your table and share some words

02:18of encouragement. There are some on every single table with pens for your pleasure.

02:24Take them to the Purple Leash Project wall in the back of the room where we can channel all of the

02:29hope, love, and awareness from this beautiful room of gorgeous, powerful women towards positive

02:38change. This will be open for the rest of the night, so do it whenever you feel free to.

02:44Since 2019, Purina and Red Rover have provided more than 50 Purple Leash Project grants to

02:50domestic violence shelters across the country to become pet-friendly.

02:54Brave survivors at these locations, they will get your notes. In the world of isolation they

03:01have been living in, you cannot underestimate the power of letting them know that they are not

03:06alone. And speaking of de-stigmatizing, if you haven't seen it yet, Courage Together

03:13by Kristen Visbal is on display at the activation in the back of the room, and it is so incredibly

03:20powerful to see domestic abuse survival being represented so beautifully in this room and in

03:26front of this extraordinary group of people. I know the bond between a survivor and their pet is

03:32crucial, especially during the darkest days, and this statue brings art to life, the first step

03:38towards a brighter future together. Once you hear that nearly half, 48% of domestic abuse survivors

03:47delay leaving because they can't take their pet with them, it seems so obvious. But currently

03:53fewer than 20% of domestic violence shelters accept pets. So as Domestic Violence Awareness

04:00Month comes to a close, please don't forget what you have learned. Survivors deserve more.

04:09Thank you for listening and not looking away. Also thank you Zoe Saldana,

04:22thank you TV mom, and thank you bio mom.