Recently, domestic violence victim Christy Mack, who was allegedly beaten by an ex-boyfriend, tweeted out an update to her fans and supporters about her recovery. In addition to details about her own injuries and road to recovery, Mack talked about an event that she recently attended.

“After having makeup done and dressing up for yesterday’s charity event, I felt much better about how I look now. It made me feel more normal, and beautiful for the first time in a very long time. The event that I went to was for Face Forward, a non profit charity that funds surgeries for women and children that have been in horrible situations that require them to have reconstructive surgery. They are not funding me, my surgeries are being donated by other doctors. I met many wonderful people and look forward to working more with them in the future.”

The organization that Mack talks about is Face Forward, Inc. Face Forward describes their mission this way.

“The mission of Face Forward is to provide facial surgical reconstructive services for women and children who have been victims of violence through gang aggression or domestic violence. Such injuries are devastating, and we primarily offer facial reconstructive services for affected innocent individuals.

“The urgency in providing relief to innocent individuals lies in the fact that the lasting physical and emotional effects of gang and domestic violence have a documented ripple effect through generations and can affect many more than just the abused. The scars of abuse are a constant reminder of the abusive event and cause physical and psychological pain, often times lasting much longer than the abuse event. These reminders can cause victims to feel shamed, ostracized, and unable to fully recover. Our mission is to pave that first step forward toward recovery and toward the future.”

Face Forward was founded in 2008 by Mrs. Deborah Alessi, herself a victim of domestic violence. Alongside her husband, Dr. David Alissi, they work to help victims who need reconstructive surgeries. They say that the average patient’s initial treatment costs $5,000. The organization passes along 90% of all funds it receives toward victim treatment and recovery, with little used for operations and other budget needs.

While Mack does say that Face Forward is not helping cover cost of her own reconstructive surgeries, she supports the mission of the group and attended their 2014 Gala Event.