For 10 Years, Love Doesn’t Shove Has Worked to Prevent Dating Violence in Cleveland

For the past decade, Gabriella Kreuz has been educating teenagers in the Northeast Ohio area with her program Love Doesn’t Shove. Created by Kreuz when she was in college, the program travels to high schools to have open conversations with students about dating violence. 

After her own experience with dating violence, Kreuz attended group therapy with the Journey for Safety and Healing Group. 

“They’re the support group that I was pointed to over 10 years ago, and that support group really was a game changer for me,” Kreuz says.

While she was a senior at John Carroll University, Kreuz decided to share her story by creating a dating violence campaign to educate the campus. Then, after graduating, Kreuz officially started Love Doesn’t Shove and began visiting area schools. Early interest in the program was spread through word of mouth. 

“I had a school ask me to speak, and it was actually my family violence teacher at John Carroll who asked me,” she says. “After I spoke in that class, she knew a different teacher, and then it was one thing after another.”

RELATED: Most Interesting People 2019: Gabriella Kreuz

Since then, Kreuz has traveled to more than 40 middle schools, high schools, universities and shelters. Kreuz didn’t want her presentations to follow the typical dark tone of dating violence talks; instead, she keeps her presentations upbeat and colorful. She uses her own personal experience to get the conversation going and encourages discussion and questions from her audience. 

“The student feedback is always something that keeps me so passionate, because there are so many personal stories from students that I get to listen to,” Kreuz says. “I can remember one kid came up to me in a presentation, and he thanked me for the presentation and said, ‘This really made me feel less alone.’”

Love Doesn’t Shove acts as a sponsor or beneficiary to races such as the Turkey Trot, Reindeer Run and the Cleveland Marathon. Kreuz, a member of Northeast Ohio’s running community, is a recent inductee to the John Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame. She hopes to continue working with races to spread awareness on dating and domestic violence. 

Outside of Love Doesn’t Shove, Kreuz is a freelance broadcaster who primarily works with sports. She has hosted Cleveland Guardians games, facilitated feature segments with Cleveland 19 News, presented awards at the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and was a sideline reporter for the American Bowl. 

As for the next 10 years, Kreuz aims to expand the organization by teaching at more schools, creating additional online resources and partnering with more sports teams. While education is the central focus of Love Doesn’t Shove, she has been thinking of going even further.

“I think the next chapter of Love Doesn't Shove is really going to be about introducing other avenues where survivors can find resources and bringing more of the community together,” Kreuz says.

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.

Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, featuring immersive stories, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.