Florida VoiceS p r i n g 2 0 1 0

WFTS-TV ABC Action News in Tampa Bay once again engaged in ground breaking media efforts to increase public awareness about the complexities of domestic violence. For the second year in a row, WFTS-TV ABC produced their Taking Action Against Domestic Violence Campaign which won an Emmy Award last year for conducting the best Community Service Campaign by a TV Station or Cable Station in the Suncoast region. After recently hearing the overwhelming feedback from community members regarding this year’s broadcast, I certainly would not be surprised to see another Emmy in their future. The 2010 campaign was expanded this year to include coverage during a six-week time period which aired from March 22nd – April 30th. During that time, ABC Action News produced and aired interview segments with survivors and advocates on their Positively Tampa Bay at noon broadcasts, special reports during the evening newscasts and a one-hour, commercial free, primetime special along with a series of public

service announcements. The Taking Action with Fashion Collection Drive aspect of the campaign collected more than 350 items of clothing from station employees resulting in an estimated value of $4,032 for area domestic violence center’s thrift shops. And once again, the Scripps Howard Foundation generously donated a $5,000 community grant to assist with expenses associated with operating the statewide toll-free hotline. Just as last year, the grant will go directly for the

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this even more disturbing is that overall crime is down, to a 39 year low. While it is certainly good news for most of Florida’s citizens that our crime rate has decreased by 6.4 percent, and violent crime by 10 percent, there is another group of our citizens that aren’t so fortunate. Sadly, domestic violence crimes accounted for 40.7 percent of all reported violent crime; slightly more than 20 percent of all murders were the result of domestic violence. The numbers speak

President’s ReportTiffany Carr, President/CEO

Chair’s MessageShandra Riffey, FCADV Board Chair and Executive Director of Micah’s Place, Fernandina Beach

A publicAtion of the floridA coAlition AgAinst domestic Violence

The Florida Coalition Against Domestic

Violence is a grassroots nonprofit organization whose membership

is comprised of individuals, centers,

and advocacy groups sharing the goal of

eliminating domestic violence.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:WFTS-TV ABC Action News’ Taking Action Against Domestic Violence Campaign 2

DCF Update 3

Opening Clothes Doors 4

Family Life Center’sOscar Night 4-5

NNEDV: DV CountsFlorida Summary 6

Ellen Siler Honored 7

Coaching BoysInto Men 8

The release of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s 2009 Uniform Crime Report reflected what we are experiencing in our centers – that domestic violence crime is increasing, and increasing substantially. What makes

Rep. Denise Grimsley, Lissette Campos and Tiffany Carr during a Taking Action Against Domestic Vio-lence segment taping

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Continued from page 1 – President’s Report

FLORIDA VOICE

operation and maintenance of the statewide domestic violence hotline which receives more than 19,000 calls annually. The $10,000 that the Scripps Howard Foundation Grant has provided since 2009 continues to have a tremendous impact; ensuring survivors have access to information regarding emergency shelter, legal services, and a comprehensive information and referral network. Scripps Howard recognizes that the statewide hotline is often the first linkage to safety for survivors of domestic violence and their children. Once again, we applaud Scripps Howard for their ongoing leadership and support of the WFTS-TV ABC Action News Tak-ing Action Against Domestic Violence Campaign and the statewide domestic violence hotline. The goal of the Taking Action Against Domestic Violence Campaign is to increase awareness of the impact of domestic violence on our communi-ties, our families, and our state. The campaign efforts also focus on increas-ing awareness of the toll-free statewide domestic violence hotline and services available through the local certified domestic violence centers. Each year, ABC Action News educates viewers regarding services available and encour-ages community members to become active in ending domestic violence in their community. ABC Action News and their partners achieved their goal and it was evident by the number of hotline

calls, visits to the www.abcactionnews.com/dv website and the number of viewers during the primetime special on April 23rd and rebroadcast on May 1st. The results were awesome! Dur-ing the campaign period, calls coming into the statewide domestic violence hotline increased by 35% - topping last year’s results of a 25% percent increase. Website traffic increased almost 49% during the six week campaign. In all of 2009 there were 9,263 visits to the website; yet, the spring campaign alone produced 7,482 visits. However, these are all just numbers, albeit impressive numbers, but the real success is hearing some of the comments from viewers, from the general public to survivors and advocates:

Felicia, DV Survivor: “I really don’t know where to begin.....sometimes words are simply letters strategically placed to evoke emotion.....but one thing that I can say is that your persistent attack on domestic violence is to be commended. The past week has been very emotional for me as I watch all the different stories that all end up in the same place, I’m amazed that no matter how much time goes by we, the victims still carry that intense memory of the events that have taken place in our lives.”

Carolyn, DV Survivor & now advocate: “OMG! I didn’t know how you were

going to exceed last year’s documentary regarding da/dv, (domestic abuse/domestic violence) but you have. I keep learning so much about all the resources in Florida and wonderful people who are learn-ing that they matter…You may never know fully what you have done for me this past year and now I am absolutely certain I am ready, willing and able to soar with passion and give back to other survivors.”

Coleen, local viewer: “I went to Sweetbay (supermarket) on Sunday, and Bob (the meat guy) was talk-ing about it! He was really impacted…When ‘the guy next door’ is talking about it, mission accomplished!”

Simply put – WFTS ABC Action News – YOU ROCK! I have never been more impressed by such an organized effort and commitment from a media part-ner. Rich Pegram, Vice President and General Manager, serves as the genius behind this campaign with the most impressive leadership from Lissette Campos and Jen McVan who worked night and day to ensure this was the most comprehensive pubic awareness effort to date. I applaud your efforts, your leadership, and your commitment to raising the bar and challenging all of us to strive higher and do better. Finally, a special thank you to Verizon Wireless and The Allstate Foundation who made it possible for WFTS ABC Action News to create their magic. Your partnerships and collaborations saved lives.

• Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences covering the Southeastern U.S.

• National Headliner Award for Best Community Service Campaign in the country

• Florida’s Associated Press Broadcasters Award for Best Public Affairs Campaign in the state

Nominations include• Society of Professional Journalists Statewide Award for Community Service Campaign• Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Award for Best Community Service Campaign (Regional

award with 11 states competing)• Society of Professional Journalists Green Eyeshade Award for Writing (Regional Award with 11 states competing)

WFTS-TV ABC Action News’ Taking Action Against Domestic Violence Campaign

Awards and Nominations

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This system has proven to be a highly efficient and effective means of uniform reporting, saving valuable time and effort for providers and our DV Program staff, as well as supporting us all in our on-going responsibility to promote the State’s “green” efforts. Congratulations to Brad! DV Program Office Director Trula Motta has been participating as a member of the newly established Statewide Fatal-ity Review Team. This team, coordinated by Attorney General Bill McCollum and FCADV, is working diligently to address the critical issues surrounding domestic violence-related murders throughout

Update From the Department of Children and Family Services Domestic Violence

Program Office

The Domestic Violence Program Office has greeted the first quarter of 2010 with a flurry of activities. The program’s legislatively mandated annual report was released for the period covering 2008-2009. The report, entitled “Circles of Collaboration,” provides an overview of accomplish-ments, fiscal accountability and our continued collective efforts to build community partnerships throughout Florida. We hope you will take some time to view the report on-line at: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/programs/domesticviolence/publications/docs/DVAnnualReport0809.pdf We have an exciting announcement regarding the recognition of one of our employees, Brad Cote, as a winner of the Davis Productivity Awards. Brad will be recognized at this year’s annual awards banquet in June for his work in developing an automated data system for collecting reports and information from our DV providers around the state.

Continued from page 1 – Chair’s Messagefor themselves, 232 people were killed by someone they once trusted, someone they once loved. And more than 116,500 individuals reported a domestic violence crime during the past calendar year. The murder, manslaughter and stalking increases especially show how dangerous domestic violence crimes have become… murder up 15.6 percent…manslaughter up 71.4 percent and aggravated stalking up 31.6 percent. The statistics are devastating, but they are more than just numbers in a crime report, they

are promising lives cut short, and lives turned upside down. Everyday in our centers we see the impact of domestic violence. The stunning data reflected in the 2009 Uniform Crime Report, coupled with the surge in demand for emergency shelter services, clearly demonstrates the critical needs facing Florida’s do-mestic violence centers. Included in this month’s newsletter is the Florida Summary from the National Network To End Domestic Violence’s “2009 Do-mestic Violence Counts: A 24-Hour Census of Domestic Violence Shelters and Services”.

In a single day, 3,097 domestic vio-lence survivors were served by our certified domestic violence centers. I don’t know of a time when the need for domestic violence resources has been greater. There is much work to be done. Yet, daily I am so impressed with our champions, our advocates and train-ers, law enforcement, judges, legisla-tors, and all of those working to make a difference in the lives of survivors and their children. Working together in our communities cause change and save lives.

Florida. Ms. Motta is also coordinating with other volunteer team members, data collection needs in order to capture critical information needed to further address these lethal situations. The DV program will be hiring an analyst in the next several weeks to assist in looking at data trends and analysis of information. We are also providing staff support to the team

to issue a report in September on the findings and recommendations of this statewide effort. DV Program Office staff continues to provide management and oversight of the $7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding. This money has allowed the establishment of numerous jobs throughout Florida to assist in community coordination of our domestic violence partners to combat DV crimes. We will continue to closely monitor the ARRA money and jobs as part of our reporting responsibilities.

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What do spring cleaning and the Legislative Session have in common? It means that it’s time for the Florida Association of Professional Lobby-ists (FAPL) and the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence to team up for their annual Opening Clothes Doors initiative. This year’s event brought new partners, new drop-off locations and an amazing number of donations. Dress for Success and Club 25 Women of Tallahassee joined in this true c ommunity collaboration to collect business clothing for distribution to statewide domestic violence centers. In addition to the Capitol, FCADV’s office and Governor’s Club locations, Jenny Craig and Mad Dog Construction opened their office doors and collected clothing. “Many times survivors will leave violent homes with not much more than the clothes on their back. This initiative helps survivors of domestic violence as they reclaim and rebuild their lives.” said Tiffany Carr, FCADV President and CEO. “FCADV applauds FAPL for their leadership in this initiative and thanks all of our partners, volunteers and of course – donors for making this such a

successful event”. The results were phenomenal and almost doubled last year’s donations. The effort to date produced 27 18- gallon storage bins for a total of more than 1,000 items that included business clothing, shoes and acces-sories for distribution to statewide domestic violence centers. Donations are continuing to come into FCADV offices! “This was a wonderful and easy way for Florida lobbyists -- and really anyone -- to donate business attire and lend a helping hand to those who

have suffered in the wake of domestic violence,” said Victoria Zepp and Diana Hadi-Padgett, FAPL board members and co-chairs of the event. To help get back on their feet, survi-vors in shelter receive clothing either from the center directly or through a center thrift shop. Additionally, the public may purchase items from the

thrift shop to help raise money, 100% of which goes directly to center programs. Most all items and clothing are donated, so initiatives such as Opening Clothes Doors are vital. FCADV will distribute the donations based on greatest need.

Florida Association of Professional Lobbyist’s mission is to establish and maintain high standards for the lobbying profession through ethical conduct and member education. For more informa-tion visit: www.lobbyethics.org.

Dress for Success provides services to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Club 25 Women is a newly formed social group of Tallahassee Democrat’s 25 Women You Need to Know honorees dedicated to empowering women to achieve their fullest potential. Club-25Women@yahoo.com

FLORIDA VOICE

Florida Lobbyists Donate Attire for Survivors of Domestic Violence

Through Annual OPENING CLOTHES DOORS Initiative

of the town and sold-out at $125.00 per ticket. The evening began at 4:30 p.m. with a red carpet arrival via limousines for all attendees provided by Craig, Flagler Palms Funeral Home. A grand entrance for each guest included a stroll down the red carpet

through the adoring paparazzi. The featured speaker Jim Payne, WESH CH 2 Anchorman, captivated the audience who hung on his every word as he announced the prestigious winners. The presentation of awards to local “stars” continued throughout

Family Life Center’s Red Carpet Oscar Night 2010 – A HUGE Success

By Diana Christen, CEO Family Life Center The Family Life Center is proud to present its First Annual Red Carpet Oscar Night held on March 7, 2010 at the Hilton Garden Inn of Town Center in Palm Coast. As promised, the event truly was Flagler County’s Biggest Night. This exciting event has been the talk

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dinner and honored people that have generously supported the agency in a multitude of ways. “The Family Life Center Board of Directors and Staff are truly honored to recognize those peop le in our community who give so generously o f the i r t ime , talents, and finan-cial resources to help those who are less fortunate,” said CEO Diana Christen. The excitement o f t h e c rowd grew intense as the night contin-ued and awards were presented to the winners. Graciously, all the winners expressed their respect and support of the mission of the Center to end domestic violence and homelessness in Flagler County. Bill Delbrugge, Superintendent of Flagler County Schools, came forward unan-nounced and offered to match dollar per dollar for a donation collection of up to $1,000. The crowd generously met his challenge. Said Brianna Holt, Development Director, “The Family Life

Center would like to sincerely thank St. Augustine Rent-a-Center, Craig, Flagler Palms Funeral Home, Marineland, Belk of Palm Coast, Aimee’s Hallmark of

Palm Harbor, Fields BMW of Ormond Beach, Jim Payne, and all attendees for making this event such a huge success. It is the support of the community that allows us to continue to provide our free services to those in need.” Immediately following the awards ceremony at 7:55 p.m. was the official drawing of chance for the winner of a 2010 BMW 328i or $25,000 in cash.

The raffle tickets were $100 and lim-ited at a maximum of 500 sold. The lucky winner, Chief Rick Look of the Flagler County Sheriff ’s Office, elected

to take the $25,000 cash prize. Chief Look was unable to attend but was pleasantly surprised by a live phone call from Jim Payne at the event announcing that he was the winner. The raffle was conducted by Independent Audi-tor, David Batten of Batten Madewell CPA, LLC. Proceeds of these events will go directly t o s u p p o r t t h e Family Life Center. The Center currently operates an Emergen-cy Shelter/Safehouse,

Outreach Program, and Transitional Housing Program for victims of violence in Flagler County and surrounding areas. The organization is committed to meet-ing the needs of a growing community regarding issues related to the trauma of domestic violence, sexual assault, and homelessness. For more information on services please call 386-437-7610 or visit www.flcsafehouse.org.

And the 2010 Red Carpet Winners Are:• Humanitarian Award- Faith Coleman, Bunnell Free Clinic• Best Picture- Mr. & Ms. Richard Moreau• Leading Actor- Ross Royce• Leading Actress- Mary Slattery• Supporting Actor- Bill Delbrugge, Superintendent of Schools• Supporting Actress- Ann Weaver, WNZF & BEACH Radio• Best Corporate- Craig, Flagler Palms Funeral Home• Best Educator- Cheryl Perry, Flagler Palm Coast High School Activities Director• Most Involved Church- Christ Lutheran Church• Best Volunteer- Jackie Woods • Best Civic Group- Palm Coast Lions Charities, Inc.• Best Association– Flagler Business Women • Best Club- Women’s Council of Realtors

Jim Payne Accepting the Award for Best AnchormanAbove, From Left: Jim Payne, Brianna Holt, Diana Christen, Carol Corson

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Hubbard House’s Ellen Siler Honored During Women’s History Month

Each year during Women’s History Month, the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women in Jacksonville selects four women who are making lasting contributions to impact the status of women. This year’s theme was Women Who Inspire Hope and Possibilities and Ellen Siler, CEO of Hubbard House was one of the four honored. She and the other honorees will be memorialized in a poster that hangs as part of a permanent collection at the University of North Florida. Ellen has worked in the non-profit sector her entire adult life, starting with the Peace Corps in 1971. Prior to entering the domestic violence field she worked with YMCA’s, YWCA’s and the Red Cross. Ellen served as Executive Director of Quigley House for their first seven years and then with Hubbard House for the past 12 years. She has been active on the FCADV board for 15 years and served as president twice. In her 19 years leading domes-tic violence centers, Ellen has made countless and lasting contributions to the domestic violence movement. Under her leadership, Quigley House raised $1.7 million for their permanent facility and Hubbard House formed

a foundation and completed a $5.5 million endowment campaign. In the past decade, Hubbard House has grown in its ability to respond to victims and educate the community. They have opened an Outreach Center to increase victim access to services and established the collaborations that ensure Hubbard House victim advocates are an integral part of the civil and criminal response to domestic violence in Jacksonville. Ellen was instrumental in opening the Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence that streamlined the process for victims seeking injunctions for pro-tection and in the signing of a historic, first in the nation, Memorandum of Understanding between the military and civilian communities that increased collaboration and communication between the two systems. She helped form the Intimate Violence Enhanced Services Team that has dramatically reduced domestic violence homicides in Jacksonville. The Attorney General is now funding similar initiatives in seven counties. Her work goes beyond our state and nation’s boarders, as Ellen has traveled to Jacksonville’s sister city in Murmansk, Russia three times focusing on helping

to develop services, conduct training of law enforcement and others, and to raise awareness. She also hosted the Murmansk team visit to Jacksonville. Additionally, in 2002 she accompanied Columba Bush, former Governor Jeb Bush’s wife, and FCADV President/CEO Tiffany Carr to Mexicali, Mexico to provide technical assistance and training to a group of Mexicali advocates. Her ability to facilitate collaborative efforts has brought people to the table, increased their understanding of the issues and provided a positive lasting impact on the systemic response to domestic violence, positively affecting the lives and safety of over five thousand battered women and their children each year.

Ellen Siler, A Portrait of Service

Statewide: Governor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence, Governor’s Commission on Minimum Standards for Batterers’ Intervention Programs, Governor’s Commission on Marriage and Family Support Initiatives, Attorney General’s Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. Local: Assistant Chair of the Implemen-tation Committee of the Mayor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence, Member and Past Chair of the Domestic Violence Intervention Project (serving on the mortality review committee since 1998), Past Chair of the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women, Past Member of the Mayor’s Sexual Assault Advisory Council and the Mayor’s Victims As-sistance Advisory Council.

She is a graduate of UNF and Leadership Jacksonville and a member of Rotary and the Jacksonville Women’s Network. She was awarded the titles of Court TV “Everyday Hero,” (2002), Jacksonville Business Journal Women of Influence (2006), Jacksonville Business Journal Ultimate CEO (2009) and was an Eve Finalist (2009).

In accepting the award, Ellen Siler is joined by two of her three children, Michelle Thompson and Todd Siler; her daughter Becky Mendez was unable to attend.

425 Office Plaza Dr.Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone: (850)425–2749Fax: (850)425–3091Hotline: 1–800–500–1119

Florida Voice is published quarterly to inform supporters, members, interested individuals, and organizations of the activities of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“Sponsored by FCADV and the State of Florida, Department of Children and Families”

Attorney GenerAl Bill MccolluM And rep. Kurt Kelly Join HArBor House And FcAdV to proMote HeAltHy teen dAtinG relAtionsHips

Teen dating violence is disturbingly com-mon. Approximately one third of teenagers will experience some degree of dating violence and more than 30% of those victimized won’t tell anyone. By working directly with teens through programs such as Coaching Boys into Men, an initiative of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, young men identify positive dating relationship behavior. Since 2003, Harbor House of Central Florida has partnered with the Orange County Domestic Violence Taskforce, area businesses and organizations to address prevention of intimate partner violence in the Orange County community through the Coaching Boys into Men campaign. This year Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and Representative Kurt Kelly of Marion County joined FCADV and Harbor House of Central Florida to highlight and bring attention to the program. The nine-week healthy relationships curriculum is for boys ages 11-14 and includes weekly meetings and quarterly events. More than 180 boys participated in the program this past year. “Not only are these young men learning about safe and healthy relationships, they are learning that their community cares about them,” said Attorney General McCollum. “This program is truly making a difference.” Representative Kurt Kelly sponsored legislation in memory of Tiffany Barwick, who was 19 years old when she and her friend Michael Ruschak were murdered by her ex-boyfriend. The legislation provides the same rights and remedies to victims of dating violence that are available to victims of domestic violence. Harbor House CEO Carol Wick explains “The primary focus of the Coaching Boys into Men initiative is working with men and boys in communities to be allies with women and girls to promote healthy, non-violent homes and relationships. This successful initiative has been in place in our community for more than seven years and is a valuable part of a collective social change campaign for the prevention of domestic violence, challenging the public’s knowledge, attitude, beliefs, and behaviors around specific issues.” Coaching Boys into Men volunteer Morgan Voke adds “Volunteering and mentoring with the program for the last four years has been very enjoyable and extremely fulfilling. Many of these boys have no positive male influence or role model in their lives. It is great to be able to give them the positive affirmation and encouragement they require. Having a place to openly discuss topics shunned elsewhere and express ones feelings without being judged is awesome.”

Group photo of youth at a basketball event, part of the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s Coaching Boys into Men initiative.

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