IamA Operations Manager at Meathead Movers, who move victims of domestic violence for free in conjunction with local organizations AMA!

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I answered your comment in the other post. Here is some information for you. I really hope it helps and I wish I could do more.

I would really recommend getting help. It looks like this organization http://www.corasupport.org/ is very close to you. Here is their number: 800.300.1080

I'm in Canada, specifically Winnipeg, Manitoba. I own a five ton truck that I'd be more than willing to contribute to your cause. Are there any people that you know of that I could do tact here? PM me if you have any time and info.

Hi! That is awesome that you would like to help. I personally would not know but after some quick research it looks like the police department is in charge of this in your city. Here is their contact information:

http://winnipeg.ca/police/DomesticViolence/

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/sfv-avf/index-eng.php

How do you prevent people who just want free help moving from abusing your business?

That is the sole reason for our partnerships with these organizations is to prevent abuse of the system. They have the resources to differentiate people who truly are in need of help and we have the resources to get them out quickly.

In short if someone come to use looking for free services for domestic violence we direct them to one of the organizations we are aligned with to assist them. Those organizations such as Good Shepherd will contact us to move them.

Have you ever run into trouble with the abusers?

Fortunately we have not had any issues on our end with the abusers. I can't really speak for the organizations that we work with on their end however.

Moves like this are usually well planned out where the abuser is offsite or in custody and any potential conflicts are dealt with prior to our movers going out to the site.

How do you make sure you don't pack up a bunch of the alleged abuser's stuff on the alleged victim's word?

Great question! This is definitely a gray area, however on all of the moves I have experienced it is a matter of getting them out quickly, usually bringing only the absolute necessities i.e. bed, clothing, dresser and maybe a couch.

It is more of making sure they are going to have what they ned to get out and live on their own. The organizations such as Good Shepherd also assist in making sure they have what the necessities and even provide temporary living.

That's over a grand in furniture. That's exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about.

I understand that, and essentially it is up to Good Shepherd to delineate what we are taking and not taking with the victim and relay that to us as the movers.

We have never come across an issue like this in the past on our end.

I see that Good Shepard caters entirely to woman clients, do you ever move male victims of domestic violence? If so, how do you vet them?

That seemed to big a large point in the two posts regarding our company.

Yes Good Shepherd does cater specifically to women and children but they are only one of the organizations we have partnered with. We have another organization that we are alligned with called Interface in Ventura County includes ALL victims of domestic violence and even assists in the treatment of the abusers and getting them counselling.

I personally have moved a male victim of domestic violence when I worked in the field a couple years ago so as a company we have connections for this type of assistance.

I realize this isn't necessarily about your organization, but what does Good Shepherd do with children of abused fathers?

"Your dad doesn't fit our real man narrative. Sorry kid."

I honestly am not sure on their end. I am absolutely positive there are organizations that are able to help. We in fact are also partnered with an organization called Interface in Ventura County, CA that deals with male victims as well.

On a side note I feel as though the "Real man" narrative is more of a stance of men shouldn't abuse women. I also think "Real Women" shouldn't abuse men either.

At Meathead Movers the majority of our workforce are men in their early twenties which, after working with these organizations, is usually the biggest offender in the domestic violence issue. The fact is that no one should live in that environment and this is something that is ingrained in every employee, to help victims of domestic violence where ever they can.

I'm willing to believe your intentions are good, but you may not get the chance to explain "We don't mean 'real man' the same way as when your abuser has used it against you."

This makes perfect sense and I agree.

In the context of a women's domestic violence shelter the use of "Real men don't hit women" does make sense, but obviously we do not discount the fact that male domestic violence is a very real threat have and will continue to help them through our other connections :)

congratulations for the good work, but did you talk to a branding consultant before selecting "meathead movers" as your name?

Our name actually comes from a story about our founders. They were wrestlers in high school in 1997 when the company started and had the nickname "Meatheads" given to them and it stuck.

How the company actually started is pretty interesting in itself. Here is an exceprt from the webage :

"Beginning Aaron and Evan Steed started Meathead Movers in 1997, when Aaron was a high school junior and Evan a freshman. Because of their school and athletic commitments, the two were having difficulties finding part-time work that fit around their busy schedules. One day the brothers helped a friend's parents to move. This led to some immediate word of mouth about their labor service. The customary fee back then was usually $20.00 and pizza for a day’s labor. The Steeds enjoyed the workout of moving, but they also enjoyed the gratitude they received from their clients after a job well done. In 1997, Aaron and Evan Steed helped a friend’s parent move and started doing more moving jobs as a way to earn money around their high school sports and academic schedules. The company didn’t even own trucks! Customers would rent a moving van or truck, pick the movers up themselves, drive them to their house and the movers would load their belongings. The client would then drive the moving truck to the new home, and the movers would unload. Aaron asked the clients to pay what they wanted, so often they were paid $20 and a pizza. The movers were clean-cut, polite, and hard-working. They posted flyers with tear-off strips holding Aaron's pager number and soon began getting some response to their flyers that they printed in high school computer class. Aaron would usually get paged during school class time and would return the calls between classes from the school pay phone. Word of mouth spread, and within a few years they were completely supporting themselves—able to purchase their own cars, clothes, food and rent, as well as employ about 25 of their friends. Some people told the Steeds that they doubted they could make the transition from labor service to full-fledged business. But the brothers' vision of young and energetic student athletes delivering a unique customer service experience kept them relentlessly striving to make it happen. Soon their fledgling enterprise was fielding as many moving jobs as they could possibly handle, and Meathead Movers, Inc. became a full-time occupation for both brothers."

Loved the service ever since it was announced. Your CEO is really keyed on being IN the community and not just for business purposes.

My question is how do those women/children react around your movers? Having donated to batter women's shelters before, I know that you don't just drive up to the place but make an arrangement for drop off/pickup at third location, how/where do you deliver their stuff?

Aaron (our CEO) is awesome and you are absolutely right, Meathead Movers is not just a business in our community but is an active member in it.

To answer your question, the majority of the time the victims are very grateful and you can see the appreciation they have even though it is something that is probably very scary for them.

I personally have never had the children around during the move, they are usually at school or someplace else, however on our non-domestic violence moves children are usually amazed that their furniture is being lifted and moved and they usually have huge grins on their faces.

We usually drop off the items and belongings at a safehouse designated by the organization or place it into a storage unit for a short time until the victim can find a safe place to live with the assistance of said organization.

Just wanted to add on here that moving victims of domestic violence for free is one way we are involved with our community. In each community we work in around CA we are involved with many non-profit organizations to make our community a better place.

In Ventura County we work closely with The United Way and have 2 major fundraisers a year in association with them as well as CASA Pacifica which supports youth in our community.

1. Do you do an inventory, use barcodes on boxes?
2. Do you bring boxes, wrapping paper and blankets?
3. Do you move people commercially who have no need and are willing to pay?
4. Do you take video in case you are named in a lawsuit?

Not a closed question, but how about a memorable story; one you felt good about?

Hello!

1. We do not use bar codes or inventory on local moves (under 100 miles) since we only have 1 individual/ families items on our truck and do not have to worry about items being confused with other clients.

2. Of course! If packing is necessary on the move we will bring out materials such as boxes and wrapping paper. All of our trucks are equipped with more than enough blankets and even specialty pads for appliances and the home to protect the items.

3. We absolutely do commercial and residential moving for anyone and do about 1000 moves a month company wide. If you are looking for a commercial quote you can find it HERE

4. We do not take video on moves. We are contracted, insured and licensed so we typically do not worry on that end.

Memorable Story: This happened about 4 years ago, we were doing a move for a woman who was a victim of domestic violence. She was incredibly nice, caring (asked if we needed water, made us lunch, etc.) and seemed like a genuinely great person. She was happy through the whole loading of her items which makes everything go by smooth.

After we had finished the service and she was safe and all moved into her new home. I asked her if she needed anything else and she burst into tears, she hugged our whole crew cried on my shoulder. She told us that she just realized that she was finally out and couldn't thank us enough. It felt great getting to help someone like this.

This is probably my most memorable move I ever had and won't soon forget it.

What are some things you think an avergae person (a layman not particularly invested in the cause) could do to help cut down domestic violence or to help victims of domestic violence? What do you think can be done to help raise support or garner help from the average person as I defined it?

I would research the organizations in your local area. Many of these are non-profit organizations and appreciate volunteers. If volunteering is not your thing then I am sure donations are very appreciated (always research in depth before you donate).

If you would like to donate to one of our partner organizations here are some links!:

http://www.dvsolutions.org

http://www.womensshelterslo.org

https://www.mmcenter.org

http://www.laurashouse.org

http://www.icfs.org

http://www.riseslo.org

http://www.goodshepherdshelter.org

Do you get paid? Who funds these moves? So great to work and feel good about what you do!

All of the services are donated and free!

Meaning we are contracted with Good Shepherd or other organizations like them and give them a 100% discount.

The movers themselves are still paid their normal wages to do the move and are always stoked to be going out to assist these people.

In short Meathead Movers funds the move and Good Shepherd sets it up!

Have you ever heard back from any of the people you move?

I personally have never heard back but I know a few crews that have received thank you letters from the victim.

The moving part is usually a whirlwind and goes by very quickly and is a small part of everything that goes into getting someone out of a violent situation

Do you ever worry about the spouse coming home while you are doing this? Do you carry a gun?

Typically the abuser is either away from home or in custody.

Yes, I have had a spouse come home before, in short nothing happened.

The police were called and he was removed form the premesis. No we don't carry guns, that is for the officers.

If you're still answering questions I'd like to know about the company name. Meathead is slang for stupid person, & it's Meathead Movers, but you're moving victims... not stupid people necessarily, right?

I am still answering!

I think you are a bit confused with our name. WE are the Meatheads!

So we have a saying here at Meathead:

Before 1997 (the founding of the company), the definition of a Meathead was a dull or stupid person. After 1997 a Meathead is a strong, respectful, intelligent, clean cut individual.

So when someone calls us a Meathead, we say "Thank you for the compliment!"

Meathead still means stupid person; I don't see any alternate definitions in the dictionary. I guess you can imagine my confusion though. "I move domestic abuse victims: the company is called Meathead Movers." -I mean, it's like, woah, what? You're calling them what now?

That is definitely a service we provide, but that is not solely what we do.

We are a provider of premium moving local services for California, long distance moves to Utah, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon, and we move victims of domestic violence for free.

I can see how that could be misconstrued though, but it has not been an issue before.

Ok; it's a regular moving company too. That makes more sense.

Yep! Glad I could clarify that for you.

Is it a hoagie or a sub?

Hmmm....

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Haha you are the 10th person that has shown that to me, no it is not.

I am not that smooth.

How do you validate that the person in question is actually being abused?

This is a completely valid question, since the incentive is obviously there for someone to try and play this to get free moving services (which would be a huge disservice to both the company AND actual victims of abuse), but naturally you're being downvoted because everyone's just thinking "victim-blamer!!!"

I believe the comment was downvoted since it was already asked at the top of the page. Here was my response:

"That is the sole reason for our partnerships with these organizations is to prevent abuse of the system. They have the resources to differentiate people who truly are in need of help and we have the resources to get them out quickly. In short if someone come to use looking for free services for domestic violence we direct them to one of the organizations we are aligned with to assist them. Those organizations such as Good Shepherd will contact us to move them."

In your opinion, the $10/hour you pay the immigrants who work for you, well worth the genius publicity you getting?

I am the hiring manager at my branch so I would know all about it. We have a very in depth hiring process, multiple interviews, back ground checks, drug screens and one of the most if not THE most in depth training program for our new hires.

We aren't just a moving company but a leadership training ground for our employees a genuine part of our community which we help where we can.