Friday, February 15, 2013

Domestic Committee Group in Norwood

Police and service groups come together to stop domestic violence. The Norwood Domestic Violence Committee met on Thursday at the city's firehouse.

Local 12's Angela Ingram has the ideas the group will use to fight the problem.

Last September, police arrested Jose Garcia Martinez for allegedly murdering his girlfriend, Gladis Son in their Norwood apartment. The act of domestic violence left the couple's little girl without parents - and it struck a cord with Lupe Hoyt of the Norwood Service League. "That's what prompted me to do something. Not only do we help feed people, but we also need to help them with other things that come up."

Hoyt contacted several organizations to form the Norwood Domestic Violence Committee. They've put out surveys to gain insight into how people in the city perceive the issue of domestic violence. "We reviewed them we discussed them."

The group also came up with a strategy for short term, intermediate, and long term help for victims - including guiding them to resources. "Refer them to an organization like Talbert House or the YWCA's programs."

Hoyt says what happened to Gladis Son was a tragedy - it's one she hopes the committee can stop from happening again. Not too long ago, another victim of domestic violence shared a story that bothered Hoyt. "She was trying to flip the phone to make a call for help and her husband grabbed the phone and broke it and I think that it's time that we look at how can we make a connection again in our community so that people don't end up losing their lives."

The committee is recruiting more people to help out. Hoyt is hoping to put out more surveys in neighborhood to gather information on domestic violence.

The Norwood Domestic Violence Committee meets again Friday, March eighth.

No comments:

Post a Comment