04-25-2005 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 25, 2005 7:00 o'clock p.m. • PRESENTATION 3. PRESENTATION BY REPRESENTATIVE OF SOJOURNER Denise Eng, the Domestic Violence Community Program Manager for Sojourner, an organization that provides support services to women who have been victims of abuse, made a brief presentation to the Council regarding the services provided by Sojourner. Eng stated that, as a member of Sojourner, her job was to raise awareness that domestic violence is an important issue affecting all communities, not just an inner city problem, and discuss what to do about it. She sited examples of victims from the suburbs killed by domestic violence. Sojourner was established in 1979 as a community based service program and has helped as many as 600 people in 2004 through their services, and another 180 within their shelters. By-establishing relationships with police departments, such as the one with Orono since 1997, Eng stated that Sojourner can provide prosecutor and officer training, encourage arrests, help with restraining orders; and support groups. Due to critical shortages, Eng stated that Sojourner continues to build awareness of its services to encourage community volunteerism, financial support, and educate those who might be in need of the services available to victims. Acting Mayor Sansevere encouraged a proactive preventative approach by educating women and teens at schools to break the cycle of abuse and being attracted to this type of abusive person. • Eng stated that, oftentimes, an abuser puts on a public persona quite different than their abusive self and isolates their victims. She added that the leading cause of death among pregnant women is domestic violence and that violence to a spouse often leads to abuse of children. Eng maintained the necessity that everyone care and be made aware of Sojourner's Family Violence Prevention Fund as a vehicle for contribution and assistance. She noted that Sojourner makes presentations to schools and church groups to talk to teens about dating violence and city groups about services. McMillan asked how large Sojourner's staff was and what Orono could do locally. Always looking for additional volunteer members, Eng stated that, with their administrative staff, Sojourner is run by merely 13 staff members, and about 35 active volunteers. If the City knew of individuals Sojourner should connect with as a resource of any kind, Eng encouraged the city to make those individuals aware of Sojourner and have them contact Sojourner as soon as possible. Murphy thanked Eng for coming and Sojourner for their services that they provide. He recognized the enormous time and commitment that goes into their effort and noted that meth and drug abuse tends to play a role in this problem. APPROVAL OF MINUTES *4. Regular Council Meeting of April 11, 2005 White moved, Murphy seconded, to approve the Minutes of April 11, 2005, as submitted. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0. PAGE 2 of 10