South San Francisco, CA October 8, 2015 Submitted by Joe Fragola, Kaiser Permanente
11TH Annual ‘Free from Violence’ event promotes education and healthy family relationships
Stacey Wagner, KP SSF Public Affairs Director; Colma Councilmember Helen Fisicaro, Malou Aclan, RN, SSF KP, Raquel ‘Rae’ Gonzalez,Colma City Council, Dr. John Skerry, PIC SSF KP, Colma Mayor Joanne Del Rosario and Paulita Malay, 2015 ALLICE President
More than a hundred residents of the South San Francisco and Daly City communities gathered at Kaiser Permanente to engage in a pro-active dialogue around domestic violence, part of a national conversation during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
In the 20 years since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, there has been a 64 percent reduction of domestic violence among adult women. But domestic violence is still an issue, according to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey one in four women will become a victim of domestic violence.
Kaiser Permanente has long been a strong advocate promoting awareness and prevention of domestic violence. On Thursday, October 1st, the health care organization partnered with ALLICE – Alliance for Community Empowerment – to support the “11th Annual Free from Violence” event, a community presentation to promote education and healthy family relationships. ALLICE is a group of all volunteer Filipino-Americans that promotes healthy homes and community through education and resources.
A resource fair that included representatives from multiple agencies that help domestic violence victims was part of the event. Many of the attendees discussed partner violence with the experts.
“Domestic violence affects a person’s physical safety, their self-worth and emotional well-being,” Dr. John Skerry, Physician-in-Chief at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco said in his welcoming address. “At Kaiser Permanente, we believe everyone deserves a safe and healthy relationship, and we are proud to have partnered with ALLICE at this event and their on-going efforts to raise awareness of domestic violence to ensure that our members and communities are healthy.”
Colma Councilmember Helen Fisicaro
Marlene Caballero, a domestic violence survivor, shared her courageous story, what she had to live through and ultimately how to respond to disclosures of abuse and where to get help to break the cycle of violence. Her story is all too familiar because domestic violence is not just about one person or one family, it is an issue that affects the entire community. The other speakers included Mr. Jaime Escalon Deputy Philippine Consul General, a proud supporter of ALLICE and its efforts against domestic violence and Colma Council Member Helen Fisicaro, a staunch supporter of health and social justice.