PADA and Fort HealthCare partner to share 'Telling Amy's Story'

People Against Domestic & Sexual Abuse (PADA) is partnering with Fort HealthCare for two showings of “Telling Amy’s Story,” a documentary telling the story of Amy Homan-McGee, a 33-year-old mother of two who was killed by her husband in 2001. She had decided to leave an abusive marriage, and while Amy’s four-year-old and seven-month-old sons waited in the car with her mother, she was fatally shot her in the head by her husband.

“Telling Amy’s Story” has the power to educate and save lives. The documentary has aired on nearly 300 public television stations, covering 85 percent of the United States population. Showings at Fort HealthCare will be Monday, October 8 at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. PADA staff will be present to answer audience questions, and light refreshments will be served.

According to the National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. “This free showing is meant to bring awareness to domestic violence, because too often family and friends don’t know how to help a suspected victim,” stated Amy Venables O’Neil, PADA executive director.

In addition to the sharing the film, information about Fort HealthCare Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program will be available. As the 2012 Love Lights project, selected by the Fort HealthCare Partners organization, SANE offers a spectrum of care to victims of sexual assault. Training requires over 80 combined hours of classroom education and practical experience. Nurses who complete training gain experience with law enforcement personnel, criminal justice procedures, victim advocacy, medical examinations and social services. The goal of the training program is to help the emergency department nursing staff deliver coordinated, expert forensic and medical care that not only provides comfort and reassurance to the victim, but also safeguards evidence that aids in the successful prosecution of offenders. Currently, there is no formal program to treat sexual assault victims in Jefferson County.

To learn more about PADA, visit www.padajc.org. For questions about the film presentation, SANE program, or Love Lights, call Fort HealthCare Volunteer Services at (920) 568-5276.