Dating & Domestic Violence Support & Advocacy

Shine Bright Like Bella’s mission is to provide hope and support to students and families facing dating/domestic abuse by offering financial assistance, raising awareness, and promoting education. We emphasize the importance of mental health and addressing suicide risks associated with abuse. Our goal is to prevent dating/domestic violence, empower victims to seek help, eliminate suicide, and advocate for law change.

We promote respectful relationships through affirmations and fellowships that build resilience and self-worth in a safe, supportive community.

All of the funds received through this campaign will be used to - 

• Educate youth and families on dating violence prevention
• Provide scholarships and support to students and survivors
• Push for legislative change to protect victims…before it’s too late

Dear Reader,

My name is Billie Gonzales, and I am writing to you not only as a grieving mother, but as a voice for change on behalf of my daughter Isabella Nicole Gonzales, who lived 8,765 extraordinary days and has now been gone for more than 1,167.

In 2022, just five days after her 24th birthday, Bella - my vibrant, faith-filled, and fiercely loving daughter - died in which law enforcement quickly labeled as suicide.

But the facts do not add up. The investigation was brief, incomplete, and unjust.

What Bella Deserved Was the Truth. What She Got Was Silence.

We know now, from Bella’s own journals, that she was a victim of physical, emotional, financial, and psychological abuse. She was so terrified, she had been sleeping in her closet. And yet no one investigated. No one protected her. No one asked questions.

This was not a thorough investigation. It was a dismissal.

And this isn't just about Bella. Hundreds of families are living this same nightmare: misclassified deaths, failed investigations, no accountability. From Gabby Petito to Ellen Greenberg, whose suicide ruling was reversed only after 14 years of advocacy. THIS IS A NATIONAL CRISIS!!

We are calling for:

* An independent review of suspicious deaths involving intimate partner violence (IPV)

* Mandatory autopsies and DNA testing in all IPV-related suicide cases

* Open access to police records for families seeking answers* Presumptive classification of suicide in IPV cases as suspicious deaths

* Cross-training between homicide and domestic violence units

* Legislation like Joanna’s Law, taking effect in California in 2025; the first law of its kind to uncover hidden homicides

Bella was a leader, a champion for mental health, a coach, a Division I cheerleader, and a light to everyone she met. She was a personal trainer with a dream to empower girls and women to love their bodies and their minds. And still, this strong, brilliant woman was broken by someone she trusted, and dismissed by the system that should have protected her.

I wake up every morning in a world that no longer has my daughter in it. I’ve lost her a thousand times in a thousand ways. But what I refuse to lose is the fight—for Bella, and for the countless others whose stories remain buried.

We implore you: 

* Do not let Bella’s story end in silence! 

* Let it be a spark for reform, a case that drives new laws and new training. 

* Let her legacy be the reason one more daughter lives, one more mother sleeps in peace.

Her life mattered. Her voice mattered. And so does the truth.

Will you help us pursue it?

In Faith, Hope, and Fierce Love, Let Your Light Shine For Others!