February 04 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Happy February. Apparently the ground hog saw his shadow and we'll have
six more weeks of winter. It seems the ground hog always sees his shadow in
the north country. Some of the rest of you, including the Southeast (North
Carolina in particular) have finally found out how excruciatingly wonderful
winter can be!! The rest of you are warm, happy and relieved that you're not
knee deep in snow!
The Results Book is on its way. I sent a blessing to each recipient as I put your
address labels on the packages. So when you open the package, you will receive a blessing as well as a book. It is the least I can do for all you angels
out there.
FIRST COPIES OF RESULTS BOOK ARRIVE: EARLY RESPONSES ARE WONDERFUL
We've had several ohhs and ahhs as people start receiving the book.
They are going out slowly but you will be getting one if you ordered one. They are
now on sale for $5 plus shipping.
Patricia A. Baker-Simon, the VAWA Administrator for Maryland, writes: Thank
you so much for the copy of the book. Let me be one of the first (I hope) to tell
you: it is wonderful! I have already shared the book with my co-workers. Lt.
Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend would like to have three copies for her
office.
*Thank you Patricia. You got one of the first off the presses. We're so pleased
that you like it.
WELCOME NEW EMAIL CORRESPONDENTS: Amanda Cunningham (Director, Family Seasons Center, Cheyenne WY),
Karen Clinton (Illinois Coalition), Judy Sateren (Nursing Faculty, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN), Caroline
Nicholls (Washington DV Police, on special assignment from London Police Dept.), Helene Morris (Center for Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Defiance,
Ohio), Nancy Dawson (Retired: Worked with Wyoming DV Programs, new email address)
NEWS FROM THE STATES/COUNTRIES:
NATIVE AMERICAN NATIONS: WALK ACROSS AMERICA and the Women are Sacred Conference
**Attention-They need our involvement in this Silent Witness March in April, 2000
Beryl Rock, our Silent Witness Native American coordinator in Duluth urges
us to get involved in the walk across America. Don Coyhis, a Native American
Wisdom Figure was so moved by the Silent Witnesses that he plans to carry a
witness on his walk across America through several Native American nations
from Los Angeles in the southwest, through Oklahoma and Texas and on to Washington DC. Beryl would like to have Silent Witness organizers show
their solidarity by showing up or even by walking with him for a time.
Visit the Web Site: www.whitebison.org
to see the walk route and email Beryl Rock brock@duluth-model.org if any of you in the
southwest, south, southeast can be involved. It would be a powerful collaborative show of support for our
Native American partners in Silent Witness.
Beryl also reports that two Native American Silent Witnesses were on display
at the "Women are Sacred" Conference in Flagstaff, AZ. She said they werem
a real hit. The native community comments were of how powerful these are. The parents of the two young women attended and spoke about their
daughters. A theater group called "Spider Women Theater" from New York, performed at the conference and used the story of the two young women in
their performance. It was awesome.
*Beryl, you are full of good news. This is a wonderful opportunity for healing
and restoration in the Native communities. You have our full endorsement. And
the conference sounds great.
MINNESOTA: COLLEGE PROFESSOR TAKES SABBATICAL TO STUDY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Judy Sateren, a nursing professor at St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN) is so
interested in domestic violence that she is studying it on her sabbatical this
spring. She has used the Silent Witness exhibit and Silent Witness materials
with her students and is studying how to increase the involvement of her students in various parts of the domestic violence field. What a wonderful way
to educate young women in the nursing profession, one of the professions on
the front lines.
*You deserve kudos and a lot of thanks, Judy. Good luck on your sabbatical.
NEW YORK: LOVE SHOULDN'T HURT SYMPOSIUM
Kristen Giatzis, our wonder woman in Northern Westchester, NY, Junior
League writes:
We are gearing up for the 2nd annual "Love Shouldn't Hurt" Issues & Insights:
Abuse in Teen Relationships symposium on Friday, April 7th. We expect over 300 Northern Westchester high school students and 100 service
professionals and other volunteers to participate. The Silent Witness
exhibit will be utilized as an important visual throughout the day. As a result of
last year's event we have started the STAR (Students terminating Abusive Relationships) peer leadership program with various high schools. STAR
meets monthly and is currently planning a Valentine's Day awareness event, also including some of our SW silhouettes. STAR students are also
helping with skits that the youth improv group will depict at the symposium.
That's all for now.
*Sounds like more than enough for one spring. What a great program you
have going out there. We mentioned it in the Results Book. Go for it.
OHIO: DEFIANCE OHIO GETS A SILENT WITNESS EXHIBIT
Yet another Silent Witness exhibit in Ohio. YES. Helena Morris of the Center
for Abuse Prevention and Treatment called us to say that they have four Silent
Witness figures and will be making a fifth soon. Ohio is really going to town.
*Go for it Helena, and go for it, Ohio. You may soon be the state with the most
Silent Witness exhibits.
OKLAHOMA: THE OKLAHOMA COALITION PLANS A STATE MARCH
Marcia Smith, from the OK Coalition tells us that they will be having a Silent
Witness March on March 9th at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Their goal is to
bring domestic violence to the attention of their legislators and government
officials early in the legislative session.
*The Silent Witnesses will certainly do that. The best to you. Send us some
stories from the march.
WISCONSIN: SEND GOOD HEALING WISHES TO JANE ZELLER
Jane Zeller, Silent Witness' codirector from 1994-1997, who many of you
know and love, recently found out that she has breast cancer and is having
immediate surgery for a mastectomy this week. Jane helped recruit all 50 states in just over three years to make Silent Witness exhibits and then bring
them to Washington in 1997 for the March to End the Silence. Many of you were the recipients of her gentle yet persistent recruitment and her sense of
humor. She could use your well wishes as she faces this strenuous time. Her
email is JSZfinally@webtv.net
*Jane, we love you and send healing prayers and messages your way. The best to you for a speedy recovery.
WYOMING: COURT WATCH IN THE MAKING
Wonderful news from Wyoming. A Court Watch program may be starting in
Cheyenne, partly due to a newspaper report about the need for a court watch
program there.
Amanda Cunningham, with the Family Seasons Center, writes about her
possible involvement: Yes, in part, our interest was peaked by the article in the Cheyenne paper. I
work part-time for the City of Cheyenne, Police Department, in the CARI unit.
It is a response unit for domestic violence. I have also worked for the State of
Wyoming as a probation/parole officer. So, with these experiences, I am always interested in victims, courts and the criminal justice system. Although
the Family Seasons Center, Inc. will focus on parent education, domestic violence
is often a factor in serving a family. Also, because we are very new to Cheyenne, we thought, who better to be a non-biased agency monitoring the
courts. *We hope that this gets underway soon. We've put her in touch with our Court
Watch mentor and they will go from here. Great work, Amanda.
NEWS FROM NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS:
VAWA IN POSSIBLE JEOPARDY: The US Dept. of Justice has plans to take apart the VAWA office. NOW
informs us that this will reduce this strong, unified voice in reducing violence
against women. It would make it harder for state groups, researchers and activists to get information. NOW urges calls to Atty. Gen. staff Ann Harkins at
202-514-3892 and Off of Pub Affairs 202-616-2777 to oppose breaking up
VAWA and urge it remain a centralized unit staffed by experts. www.now.org
WELLNESS AND WOMEN CONFERENCE, SAN DIEGO, CA, MARCH, 2000
San Diego will be the host city for a Wellness and Women
Conference on March 19-22, 2000, sponsored by the University of Oklahoma. There will be
several Silent Witness figures at this conference.
contact brock@duluth-model.org for more information.
MILLION MOM MARCH, WASHINGTON DV, MAY 14, 2000
Organizers of the Million Mom March write: We are working hard to mobilize over one million mothers and others for a
march onWashington to voice our outrage over the escalating and senseless gun violence that is killing our children and other innocent people.
Although simplistic and seemingly self-evident, our common-sense mission is
in direct conflict with a powerful, heavily financed, cultural and political
juggernaut, which justifies violence. We know that life is the first inalienable
right promised by our Constitution. Our children's lives far outweigh the right
for just anyone, especially juveniles, to carry a semi-automatic assault weapon
or Saturday night special. While we acknowledge that guns may be necessary for hunting, law
enforcement, and national security, we question the proliferation of firearms
intended for one purpose only -- killing. Come May 14, we mothers and other
concerned individuals will go to Washington, D.C. either to celebrate sensible
legislation or to protest a bi-partisan stalemate.
We are endorsing:
(1) Sensible cooling off periods and background checks;
(2) Licensing of all handgun owners and registration of all handguns;
(3) Safety locks for all handguns;
(4) Limiting the purchase. Contact them at MillionMomNJ@aol.com
I leave you today with a few words written by Audrey Hepburn regarding
beauty. Thanks to Jan Fuhr of CT for passing this along: For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the
good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry For
beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day. For poise,
walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived,
reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anybody. Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older,
you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other
for helping others. The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she
carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seenin her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love
resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a
woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the
passion that she shows. And the beauty of a woman with passing years-only grows! Boost another woman's self-esteem.
Cheers,
Janet