Sheriff Tompkins Joins Campaign In Recognition Of Domestic Violence Month
October 10, 2014
Sheriff Tompkins Attends Sensational Seniors Celebration
October 22, 2014FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 17, 2014
CONTACT: Peter Van Delft
(617) 704-6682
SHERIFF TOMPKINS SUPPORTS CASA MYRNA AT FIRST ANNUAL POLICY MAKER BREAKFAST
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins recently took part in Casa Myrna’s First Annual Policy Maker Breakfast, held at the Algonquin Club in Boston’s Back Bay.
Casa Myrna is an organization that provides women living in violent, abusive households with tools to recover from the trauma of abuse and begin building sustainable self–sufficiency. Each year, they serve nearly 1,000 survivors through: three residential programs; housing search assistance; financial literacy education; counseling; legal advocacy and representation; and community–based advocacy.
The Policy Maker Breakfast was created by the organization in the wake of the attention given to the topic of domestic violence following the murder of Jennifer Martell at the hands of Jared Remy, the State of Massachusetts’ new domestic violence legislation, and the NFL/Ray Rice incident as a way to continue and elevate the conversation during Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October.
Supporting Casa Myrna along with Sheriff Tompkins were several policy makers and elected officials, including Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo who gave remarks about the issue before a trio of survivors of domestic violence shared their stories and thanked members of the organization for the help that was offered and to them and other survivors.
Following the event, Sheriff Tompkins spoke about the destructive impact of domestic violence and the people who work to prevent and mitigate its effects.
“First and foremost, I have to say “thank you” to Stephanie Brown (Chief Executive Officer of Casa Myrna) and others doing work around domestic violence prevention and survivor assistance,” said Sheriff Tompkins. “The work that they do is difficult but extremely vital, and it deserves to be recognized.”
“Many of the women in our facility carry the physical and emotional scars of trauma, which has manifested itself as some of the illegal behaviors and activities that have led them to incarceration,” Sheriff Tompkins continued. “Domestic violence shatters families and, if not addressed, can become part of a vicious cycle of abuse, with girls who witness abuse becoming more susceptible to being abused in teen and adult years, and boys more likely to be the abusers of their spouse and children as teens and adults. We have to do everything that we can to break that cycle.”
For more information about domestic violence and the resources available for help, visit: www.casamyrna.org or call the SafeLink Hotline at: 1–877–785–2020.
