U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, (D-Ore) joined Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen and Commissioner Loretta Smith on Monday to call for Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
The act, which supports law enforcement and victims’ rights work on behalf of those facing domestic abuse, is stalled in Congress. The act funds $1.2 million in services annually to prevent and end violence in Multnomah County.
“The central obstacle to this re-authorization is partisanship in Washington, D.C.,’’ Wyden said at a July 2 news conference at the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services. “We’re not interested in petty in-fighting. We want this law passed so women have a place to turn.’’
Wyden was joined by Teri Doyle, a domestic violence survivor and Gateway Center advisory council member. Doyle said the federally funded services at the Gateway Center changed her life.
“I was in and out of a relationship four years before I had the courage to leave,’’ Doyle said. “But the most important thing is not my story, it’s my after-story. And every aspect of my after story was VAWA-funded.”
Doyle said a domestic violence advocate helped her find counseling and accompanied her to court appearances, most of which she never anticipated.
“My advocate attended every court hearing with me, including getting a restraining order, the conviction and renewal of the restraining order,” she said.
Wyden, Doyle, Cogen and Smith then joined a roundtable discussion with District Attorney-elect Rod Underhilll; Gateway Center Director Martha Strawn Morris; and Annie Neal, Multnomah County domestic violence coordinator.
Also invited were Tawna Sanchez, of the Native American Youth & Family Center; Kris Billhardt, Volunteers of America; Leslie Bevan, YWCA of Greater Portland; Leslie Kay of Legal Aid Services of Oregon; Maureen McKnight, Multnomah County chief family law judge; Linda Castillo, Catholic Charities El Programa Hispano; and Deborah Steinkopf, director of Bradley Angle house.
Capt. Kevin Modica, of the Portland Police Bureau’s Family Services Division, said the bureau has referred more than 1,400 survivors to social-service advocates and organizations funded by VAWA.
Wyden was taking the discussion about this topic to Bend and Medford in the coming days.
“I describe this law as a commitment to doing what is right in America,’’ Wyden said.
July 2, 2012