Supporting the Goals and Ideals of Domestic Violence Awareness Month

SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 28, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2005

Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution to recognize the goals and ideals of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

This week we will also be considering legislation that will reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. It is my hope that we will strengthen and improve measures to ensure safe homes and communities for children and families.

Congress must continue to raise awareness of domestic violence in the United States and the devastating effects violence has on too many of our American families. We must also ensure that the organizations working to end domestic violence in our communities have the resources they need to provide services to the survivors of family violence, sexual assault, and stalking. These families and organizations deserve our commitment.

In my own State of Minnesota, VAWA funding went to programs and services for battered women and their children. Some of those projects in my own District include:

The St. Paul based Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, which provides legal advocacy services to young Native American women in collaboration with the Ain Dah Yung Center.

Breaking Free in St. Paul: A transitional housing program for women of color escaping prostitution.

St. Paul-based Minnesota Coalition of Battered Women, which links battered women's programs across the state to help fulfill the goals of VAWA, including legal assistance; training for police, prosecutors, and court officers; and protection for battered women and their children.

Other projects in Minnesota include:

The Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth--a comprehensive review of the criminal justice and civil court response to battered women.

The Women's Rural Advocacy Program in Southwest Minnesota, which purchases and implementation of digital cameras and printers for improved prosecution of domestic violence cases.

Migrant Health Services in Crookston, which provides domestic violence and sexual assault services to Hispanic migrant farm workers in the Red River Valley.

In addition to the lives saved by improved responses to violence against women, VAWA has saved our country nearly $15 billion in social costs, such as savings in the judicial and health care systems.

The month of October also marks the anniversary of a great loss to the domestic violence community--the untimely deaths of Paul and Sheila Wellstone. Not only were Paul and Sheila tireless advocates for abused women and children, they were also instrumental framers of VAWA. The Wellstones are greatly missed by Minnesotans and people throughout our Nation.

It is in recognition of those who continue the legacy of a commitment to ending domestic violence in homes and communities across our Nation, and in honor of survivors of domestic violence, that I stand today in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

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