Our Calendar
of Events
Susan
Herman, J.D. to Lecture at Sage, Albany Campus, on April 11, 2011
TOPIC: Parallel Justice
Walk A Mile In Her Shoes Annual Benefit
To benefit the Sexual Assault & Crime Victims Program of Rensselaer County.
Join the Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence
In the spirit of the phrase, “you really cannot understand another person’s experience until you’ve
walked in their shoes”, we are asking men to seek sponsorships in exchange for agreeing to walk one mile
in women’s shoes…to demonstrating a willingness to be a courageous partner with women in making the world
a safer place.
Our FFHV team, "Heals for Healing" will walking again this April but we are already signing people up.
For more information call Samaritan at 271-3639 or Sharon at 269-7970.
Ten FFHV members attended a Community Forum in Albany sponsored by the Community Coalition to Prevent
Violence. The Community Coalition was formed in the spring of 2008 after a 10-year-old Albany girl,
Kathina Thomas, was hit and killed by a stray bullet as she played on a sidewalk outside her home.
Two FFHV members, Steven Mollette and Lisa Good, addressed an audience of more than 150 community members
who attended the forum at the Albany Housing Authority to express their concerns and to learn about a
community-based violence prevention model called SNUG that is currently slated for implementation in
Albany. Steven spoke movingly of the death of his daughter, Janisha, a promising college student who was
felled by bullet intended for someone else. Lisa - who has lost two family members to violence - spoke of
her work with trauma victims through Urban Grief, the volunteer organization she founded.
Albany Common Council Barbara Smith, who heads the Community Coalition to Prevent Violence, invited
murder victim family members in the audience to stand up at one point. Approximately 20 - 25 people,
including FFVH members, rose to their feet in a moving tribute to their murdered loved ones. Together,
they bore silent witness to the incalculable toll of suffering and loss caused by violence.
"The mission of SNUG is fewer shootings, fewer deaths and funerals, less poverty and more college
graduates from communities of color," commented Smith.
The SNUG initiative represents a paradigm-shift in violence prevention. It approaches violence as a
public health issue and is premised on the idea that community-wide collaboration is needed to create
meaningful change. Clearly, we cannot prevent violence if we ignore its roots causes.
For those of us directly affected, the best memorial we can offer our lost loved ones is the commitment
to do everything we can to prevent future violence.
