A flag-raising ceremony for Domestic Violence Awareness Month was held in Fall River, Massachusetts, on October 5, 2023. Jeff Glidden, a member of the Greater Fall River Domestic Violence Coalition, opened the event by detailing the Coalition's mission, which was established in 1994 to achieve a community free from violence. Jen Murphy, a clinician at the Women's Center at Star, then spoke about the Clothesline Project, an initiative started in Cape Cod in 1990 by survivors to publicly share their stories and raise awareness about intimate partner violence. Danielle, a domestic violence survivor, shared her powerful personal testimony, recounting her experience of calling the police on her son's father three years prior and the initial fear and confusion she faced. She emphasized the critical role of community support and resources, highlighting organizations like JRI, the Women's Center, and the Southshore Advocacy Center, and stressed the importance of speaking up and knowing one's rights. The District Attorney spoke, reaffirming the office's 35-year commitment to prosecuting domestic violence cases and protecting victims. Mayor Paul Coogan thanked the Coalition and the Women's Center at Star for their vital work in providing advocacy, counseling, and crisis intervention. The ceremony concluded with the reading of a proclamation, led by Mayor Paul Coogan, officially declaring October 2023 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Fall River. The proclamation acknowledged the ongoing impact of domestic violence, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on vulnerable and marginalized communities, and reaffirmed the city's collective commitment to ending domestic violence and supporting survivors.
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Council
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good morning well we got a great day that's always good happy to see so many faces some familiar ones and some new ones thank you for coming out today my name is Jeff Glidden I am one of the members of um the greater Fall River domestic violence Coalition so I'm going to be kind of helping running the show right now mostly just introducing folks um but did just want to just say a quick word
0:28about the Coalition and what it is and was started in 1994 um as a Grassroots organization in the current Mission I want to read it out loud um the greater Fall River domestic violence Coalition is a partnership of community organizations survivors and allies working to achieve a community free from violence the Coalition serves as a platform for members to share resources Network and
0:54collaborate as well as engages the community by encouraging greater public awareness and transformative action the Coalition is committed to elevating the voices of survivors and dismantling systems of Oppression that continue to make violence possible you can find us we have our website it's F FR Fall River dc.org and check out some of our information there if you're interested after this um or
1:22feel free to come talk to any of us if you have any questions um um oh I think part of why this event is important to me is there's an opportunity to acknowledge each other to see each other to see faces and to feel a sense of solidarity I know that this work um can sometimes feel isolating and the folks that we work with are often feeling isolated I thought to myself
1:47like why do we why do we even do this why do we even raise a flag I don't know what that is um and I thought well you know if one person sees this flag and feels a little bit less alone that they're seen that they matter um then this event would be worth it to me and so thanks for coming out and showing up today um whether you're an advocate a police officer from the
2:11DA's office a politician a family member a Survivor yourself a social worker a counselor um intimate partner violence domestic violence affects us all and showing up matters and you matter here today so thank you for being here um I want to take just a minute to also just acknowledge specifically some of our our Coalition members and there's the star Women's Center here in Fall
2:39River but also the Women's Center in New Bedford uh South Coastal County's Legal Services the Family Service Association the de's office the police officers and police stations that we collaborate with and so many more members thank you for your participation and your activity um I think it's the heartbeat of what this work is and it matters um I won't bore you too much I want to
3:07um what we're going to do today is just kind of talk a little bit about our clothesline project have a a really wonderful guest speaker and then we'll kind of read the proclamation a few of us will read the proclamation um together um and I first want to um invite Jen Murphy to come up and just say a few words about the closed line project that star um has help helped demonstrate uh display today thank you
3:34Jen hi everyone can you hear me is it this one or this one okay hey everyone I'm Jen um I'm a clinician at the Women's Center at Star I'm an expressive Arts therapist and it's my honor to help facilitate the clothesline project the clothesline project started here in Massachusetts in 1990 it started originally in Cape Cod so a group of survivors got together and they felt like they wanted to share
4:03their story publicly to raise awareness about the long lasting impacts of intimate partner violence so truly it's a great honor to be able to continue this project today and to give survivors the space and opportunity to be empowered enough to share a bit of their story so thank you everyone for participating and coming out today I would like to invite one of our survivor speakers Danielle up to speak thank
4:35you okay hi everyone uh can you hear me okay I got thumbs up right awesome uh my name is Danielle and I am a victim of domestic violence um but most importantly I'm a Survivor Haven said that in a while um I am grateful that I was asked to come and speak here and that I have this opportunity um you know there there is so much awareness to be had um I'll give
5:10you a little bit of background about 3 years ago I finally made a decision to call the cops on my son's father um my son was about 3 months old and uh I couldn't do it by myself I had no idea what that meant when I called the cops um you know when they showed up and started asking me all these questions and you know we're going to put a restraining order we're going to we're
5:35going to we're going to arrest your son's father do you know where he is and I I panicked you know I I didn't understand what was happening I thought in my mind I was just going to call and and write something and I don't know I don't even know I I had a lot of wom for months while I was pregnant give me information on domestic violence and abuse um I was
6:03asked to move into a woman's shelter in New Hampshire where I lived you know and I was so confused I didn't understand why they were giving me these things and I encourage anyone who is here to do things like that because as a victim it's the most difficult thing is acceptance of what your life is and where you're at um and fear is crippling it's extremely crippling right um I
6:34think the first time I really had a moment like an aha moment was when I had a complete stranger at a supermarket asked me if I was okay and if I needed help and again right I was confused but I'm grateful for all those moments I am grateful for the cops who showed up and said no it doesn't matter that you don't want him to be picked up
6:56he is going to be picked up um I am grateful for a DA's office that went after my son's father because I could not at the time I refused to restraining order right I no I don't want that I don't want him in trouble I don't it's okay he's not you know all the things um the most important thing you know if you see something say something cuz again
7:22I I needed other woman to tell me that something was wrong and that I it wasn't okay um it it's very easy for me to minimize a lot of my experiences um you know it doesn't matter right it could be the way we grew up what we accept it's a it's a repetitive pattern um that abusers have right they're really good at convincing that I'm doing something wrong or that another victim and
7:50Survivor is doing something wrong and that it's them um it's a it's a very sick game it's a very sick person that we deal with on the other side right they're still human um which is why I probably decided to show up today because I there are so many women that I know who are not able to speak who can't because they're still in such dangerous situations and I pray for them that they
8:22get out right and things like this in the movements um and I'd like to just a little bit you know star the woman Center um I hope that you whatever wherever this is being recorded that you use this to show to other women for resources um if women have children there's a program called jri that's in Far River that has been a complete Savior for me and my son um and they
8:53help they help victims they help families in so many ways um if you're a victim and you're hearing or seeing this there are so many resources and it's really it's really crippling to ask for help because as a I know for me as a victim I I did not know how to ask for help I didn't even know I needed it most of the time um but it's not weakness it's strength to speak up and that's
9:22that's my that's my voice today is today I can show up and I hope that I can help another woman I don't care if it's one I would love it to be a million right um I think for so long abuse has been going on for a really long time and there was just no awareness of it which is why it was never prevalent and now all these numbers especially since Co that was my
9:43experience was a lot during Co you know numbers really grew people started reaching out for help because they were so isolated and in so much danger all the time right because there were no more distractions there were no more going outs um so these things are going on and the only way that they get fixed is by people continuing to speak up by the system continuing to show up and fight for these victims and sharing
10:11resources I had no idea how much was out there for resources there's legal help there's financial help there is physical protection right homes everything I had no idea when I was actually going through it I didn't learn about everything until a lot later on because of the lack of resources so it's beautiful to see that you people are here today and that you're standing on the front line to say not anymore and
10:37to keep pushing and you have to keep pushing cuz you've only hit the bar there is still so much a broken system right our probate and criminal court systems do not work well together and it really should um because the children are their children they didn't choose any of this you know um so again for the woman out there there's Jr r i there's star there's the woman Center there's
11:02police stations um there's Southshore Advocacy Center I encourage people whether you work in the system or if you're a victim you know if you're included into like a batters program there are victim Bill of Rights I encourage you to look at those and look at your rights as a victim I encourage you to stand by those and if they're not being upheld I encourage you to find someone to help you uphold those
11:27things same thing bis program I learned so much I found guidelines for batteris programs and things that weren't being upheld again if you're not being heard and you're not being protected it's their job you know so I encourage everyone to look at those things and make sure that if you're in the program and you're in those programs make sure you're following those guidelines check all those boxes it's your job that's
11:51what it is to keep those women safe um and for the woman out there right accountability I know fear is so crippling but the only thing that can overcome that is love and there's so much love in this community to help you and just understand that you're not alone and you don't have to be alone ever um and also if you need a place of community there's a great church called
12:18New Life um typically that's not my goto but they're also known as Redemption Church they're in fiver um Community is the biggest thing you have to be surrounded by other people cuz we can't do this alone um yeah so thank you so much for everyone being here um again my prayer is for the victims to speak up and again if you see something say something um and you're not alone so thank you so
12:53much thank you so much Danielle I hope if you take anything away from today it's just a a little bit of Danielle's strength to speak up and to speak into this today heard so much or name the different Community players and actors that helped support and also here her own strength and resilience um want to acknowledge um the presence of both Senator rodri and Senator fiola's office here today and before we
13:21read our Proclamation just wanted to give um the da a chance to speak and say a few words if you'd like
13:36in a nutshell the last speak is why I'm here not personally but when I started as a prosecutor over 35 years ago it bothered me right from the beginning to see how women are hurt on a regular basis obviously predominantly women and the impact on their children so thank you for speaking and giving a a a summary of the impact it's had on her uh Prosecuting domestic violence cases has been a priority of mine throughout
14:08my career uh want to thank uh Courtney K and our Advocates these cases are difficult for the reasons you're heard but the impact it has on a woman both physically and psychologically and her family and her children is not something that I am going to accept in terms of not doing something about it so we will continue to fight which we are doing really to protect victims uh and their
14:35families from domestic violence which is really a Scourge on our society so thank you very much thank you so much uh mayor Coogan do you want to say a few words before we read the proclamation thank you you know I had a speech all set up but uh Danny was my student and uh she stole all my thunder as she always did when she was at dery with me but I still get
15:05a kick out of her but first of all I do want to thank everyone for being here today to acknowledge its important flag raising ceremony and acknowledge October's domestic violence awareness month I have to give a special thank you to the far rivit domestic violence Coalition and of course the Women's Center at Star for their work in the community and setting up the clothesline project at City Hall their work helps
15:28hundreds of victims in the community by providing advocacy counseling Crisis Intervention for survivors of Domestic and Sexual Abuse Prevention awareness and support are key elements to help someone suffering from domestic violence we continue to partner with our schools community centers and organizations like those here today to offer resources to victims as a community Fall River needs
15:52to continue to show our support and talk openly about the impact of domestic violence once again I want to thank everyone for coming today and the continued effort of organizations like this and many more to help individuals and offer support to people from the city of Fall River so again thank you very much thank you so much thank you everyone we're going to go ahead and read our our Proclamation together now
16:24um and I'll invite Blair to come speak first
16:34whereas while our communities continue to recover from the devastating effects of the co 19 pandemic domestic violence remains an ongoing pandemic that impacts individuals families in our greater Fall River Community and whereas domestic violence most egregiously impacts the vulnerable and marginalized people in our community including black indigenous and people of color immigrants the elderly the econom ically
16:59disenfranchised lgbtq folks women and children and those with mental and physical disabilities and nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States which represents more than 10 million victims of domestic violence annually and whereas violence against women has in testified in the United States and globally since the onset of the co 19 pandemic with one in
17:31two women reporting that they or a woman that they know has experienced violence since the pandemic and whereas domestic violence is understood to be a problem that is exacerbated by increased confinement with abusive Partners social isolation from support systems increased unemployment unstable housing stress associated with child care Financial insecurity and lack of substance use
17:56supports and whereas the social and political safety nets put in place at the start of Co 19 to Aid the public economically emotionally and physically are currently disassembling leaving these minority communities in a heightened state of vulnerability and okay whereas many of these survivors choose not to report to the police the courts or domestic violence agencies for fear of being harmed or re-traumatized
18:25by these systems that are meant to support them and are also isolated from an in-person supports such as therapists family members and friends and whereas we recognize that a coordinated Community effort can prevent and Abate the pattern of domestic violence and that all our citizens deserve to live in a city that is dedicated to their well-being and safety
18:55and now therefore we as members of the Great greater Fall River domestic violence Coalition along with the mayor of the city of Fall River commit to dismantling systems of Oppression that continue to make domestic violence possible and commit to upholding the ethic of care and accountability that recognizes the unique vulnerabilities and agency of survivors and therefore we as members of the greater forer domestic
19:20violence Coalition alongside the mayor of the city of Far River commit to believing all survivors and here declare a specific intention to believe and affirm all survivors who experience additional forms of Oppression that puts them at exponential risk and therefore we as members of the greater Far River domestic violence Coalition along with the mayor of the city of Far River commit to addressing the unique and
19:45intensified problem that has arisen for survivors due to co 19 pandemic through improving the systems that provide assistance for all survivors and recognize the importance of our Collective action in achieving the is change therefore we as members of the greater far domestic violence Coalition alongside myself Paul Coogan the mayor of the city of Fall River to hereby Proclaim October 2023 as domestic
20:13violence Awareness Month reaffirming our Collective commitment to ending domestic violence signed today by me Paul Coogan the mayor of forever thank you everybody
20:57for
21:08thank you so much for being here everybody take some time to say hello to each other thank you so much