Jennifer Sebena

I was completely disheartened when I read about slain Police Officer Jennifer Sebena. Jennifer husband Benjamin Sebena is accused of shooting her to death and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has denied putting Officer Sebena’s name on their memorial wall. For those of you who are not familiar with The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund they are an organization that is set up to honor police officers who are killed in the line of duty.

Here is an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund will meet April 3 to once again consider adding slain Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena to its memorial wall, according to the Wisconsin Professional Police Association.

The memorial fund first said it would not include Sebena, apparently because she was killed in a domestic violence incident. Last week, it announced it would delay the decision until next year.

Sebena's husband, Benjamin Sebena, is accused of shooting her to death Christmas Eve while she was on duty outside of a fire station. The memorial fund's main requirement for the memorial wall is that an officer must have been "killed in the line of duty," meaning "a law enforcement officer has died as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty." The fund's board of directors makes the final decision, and the fund is a private, nonprofit organization.

"This is the only issue on the agenda. We think this is a tremendous development and reflects the fact that people from around the country have heard about this and are actively expressing their outrage at the national memorial's decision to (not) give Officer Jen Sebena the same honor as many others that were killed under almost identical circumstances," WPPA executive director Jim Palmer wrote in an email Monday to the Journal Sentinel.

"We will continue to encourage supporters to reach out to the memorial board and we are optimistic they will make the right decision and honor Jen this year," he added.

More than 14,600 people have signed an online petition supporting Sebena. A Facebook photo from the WPPA compares the case of Sebena to that of Detective Norman Montion, who was killed in El Paso by a former business partner during a lunch break and is on the memorial wall.

The Journal Sentinel has contacted the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for comment.officer.com/news/10909528/nleomf-to-reconsider-wis-officer-next-week

Copyright 2013 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
McClatchy-Tribune News Service

I ask you to consider writing letters, calling, sending emails to let the Memorial Fund know that Jennifer’s name needs to be included on this wall. Just because she knew her killer doesn’t make it less of crime or have her death not be in the line of duty. She was on duty when she was killed and she was killed by someone committing a crime of domestic violence. In my opinion this is wrong. Jennifer should be honored just as those other officers who died in the line of duty.

The contact information is below for the CEO of The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund nleomf.org/about/contact-us

Craig W. Floyd
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
202-737-7132

Below is the link for their staff e-mails:
nleomf.org/about/staff
Phone: 202-737-3400
Fax: 202-737-3405

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Office
901 E Street, NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20004-2025

Thank you for considering this request and for honoring Jennifer for her ultimate sacrifice.

Nick's Head Shave For Hope

I’m so very excited that, once again, Nick Swearngin is hosting his Head Shave for Hope House event! Nick is a very caring and compassionate individual who created this event and continues to grow it every year.

Initially, Nick started by growing his beard and mustache for several months and then having a gathering where the highest bidder was able to shave it all off and he went bald to raise awareness for Hope House. What an event this has become! These days Nick has taken to dying his hair before the event and wears a t-shirt saying “I did this for Hope House”. He raises over $10,000 at this event and each year he gets more and more people involved to share the story of Hope House and the services that we provide. Last year he had 15 people step up to have their head shaved! It is amazing the number of people each year who step forward and are willing to share of themselves in this way. 

We are incredibly grateful to Nick and to all of those willing participants who are brave enough to go bald for the cause. This year’s event will be on March 16^th from 10am-4pm. It will be at IAFF Local 2195 Lee’s Summit Fire Fighters Association at 322 SE Douglas in Lee’s Summit. There will be a Hope House entry in the St. Patrick’s Day parade which will take place that day as well. This year, Nick has out done himself with gathering great auction items including The Red Ultimate Experience VIP Taylor Swift tickets for the August 3^rd show at Sprint Center. How wonderful!!

This event is great fun and will be full of wonderful people willing to help Hope House and the people we serve. We are extremely grateful and cannot wait to be there and experience the excitement. There are several folks already fundraising on their own personal fundraising pages for the event. If you can’t be there perhaps you want to donate to one of their pages at firstgiving.com/hopehouse.

Thank you to Nick and everyone who will be shaving their heads and those who are fundraising not to have their head shaved! We are extremely grateful to all of you. You can learn more about The Head Shave for Hope House on the facebook event page: headshaveforhope or through our website at hopehouse.net/hair-razing. We look forward to seeing you on March 16^th!

Weather

This weather has been something hasn’t it! I look out my window and all I see are white mountains, many of them throughout the parking lot and street. Some are difficult to see over the top so much snow has been piled on them.

This weather can be very challenging to everyone; it is taxing on the nerves, the emotions and schedules. It can be especially difficult for people in crisis as their whole lives are turned upside down and then they have to deal with the appointment cancellations, maneuvering the streets and cancelled work which often means a reduced paycheck which then starts the crisis spiral all over again.

It is difficult to make everyone happy during snow storms but we certainly work to make the situation as normal as possible for people in our services. Unfortunately, we have had to cancel groups and other services. Courts have had to be cancelled which can not only be troublesome, but also can put goals and needs on hold or take longer to get accomplished, causing further stress on already stressed out individuals. We work hard to normalize the situation as best as possible to avoid further stress and problems and help to create solutions. Sometimes the only solution is to breathe and know there is nothing more that can be done. We cannot control Mother Nature, sometimes we are at her mercy  and can only wait it out and then be grateful for all of the workers who work all night to plow the streets and make it safe for us to venture out again.

Speaking of being grateful, I am especially appreciative of the staff at Hope House who take this weather in stride. Shelter staff come in early; they come with extra clothes and are ready to put in long shifts knowing their replacement may not be able to make it in. The facilities staff are here all hours of the day and night shoveling sidewalks and plowing the driveway to make it easy for clients and staff to get around safely. We have a great crew here; they jump in and do it all without complaint because they know it has to be done. They put the concerns of the clients first, thinking of their comfort and needs and doing whatever is needed to make sure their needs are met.

Marti Hill

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting a very courageous, warm and inviting woman. Joyce Layman Blackburn introduced me to Marti Hill so I could hear her story and offer resources for their joint project the Living Proof website.

Marti is an amazing woman. She has survived so much and has become a pioneer and advocate for those who are experiencing trauma, pain and loss. Marti’s story is not one of domestic violence, but she has so much to say that can impact those who are experiencing domestic violence. Her desire is to help everyone and she realized that she couldn’t do it alone, so she set about gathering people around her who could help. She had a dream to use her trauma and victimization and turn it into something positive that would help inspire others and promote healing.

Marti was viciously attacked on September 8, 2010 by Brian Pennington. Brian had done home repair work for Marti and Marti’s mother. Early one morning, Brian drove to Marti’s house on the pretense of showing her some more work that he found still needed to be done on her house. Instead, he viciously attacked her and left her for dead in the basement of her home.

It is a miracle that Marti is alive. Her injuries were so severe that, if it hadn’t been for her caring co-workers who became concerned when she didn’t show for work and called for a wellness check, Marti most likely would not be alive today. Marti has embraced this miracle and is committed to creating something positive out of a horrific situation. I applaud Marti for her courage, her commitment to helping others and her willingness to turn tragedy into hope.

Marti’s story was highlighted on CBS 48 Hours on February 2, 2013. She has much to offer to those who are in need or who want to be inspired by her story of survival. To learn more about Marti’s story and who she is, visit her website martihill.com. I know you will be as impressed with Marti as I am.

Year In Review

We’re putting the final touches on our annual report for Fiscal Year 2012. It can be so rewarding to look back at the year and all of the great things we were able to accomplish in a twelve month period.

In terms of numbers, we continue to see the need for services grow. We experienced greater lengths of stay in shelter and provided more bednights than the previous year. Resources in the community continue to be stretched which, in turn, makes referrals more difficult. Case managers are finding the need to be more creative in how they help their clients reach their goals. We saw continued growth in our outreach services, both in the numbers served and those waiting for available services.

As an agency, we spent the year reviewing our delivery of services, identifying needs and gaps, and adjusting our programming to better fit the needs of those we served. We were very excited to continue our work with our Cultural Competency initiative and added a new component to our work.

We were very fortunate to receive a grant, along with two other agencies, from the Jackson County Mental Health Levy Fund to implement a Trauma Informed Care training curriculum for all staff of the agency—not just the direct service staff. We are very committed to providing trauma informed services and recognize that trauma is an integral part of the history of all our clients.

To have all staff trained in how trauma impacts us as individuals, and how to work with people who have been impacted by trauma in an informed and caring way, is crucial to our work. We have begun the process of training all staff in how to provide trauma informed services and have a plan to train all new staff as they join our work.

We also created a training plan that includes requirements for on-going annual training in the areas of cultural competency, trauma and domestic violence. This will allow us to continue to grow as service providers and keep the needs of our clients at the fore front, allowing us to be informed and intentional in our work.

I am excited about what we’ve accomplished and what we’re working on for this and upcoming years. Growth and continued learning are so important. We have a commitment to our clients and will work to improve our service delivery so their needs continue to be met.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

It's already February! Hard to believe how fast time has gone. February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. It is so crucial to bring continued awareness to the issue of teen dating violence. If we don't address it when people are young, we will never fully break the continued cycle.

Shockingly, 1 in 3 teens will experience violence in their dating relationship. Estimates are that nearly 1.5 million high schools students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner! What's even more shocking is that 2/3 of them will not reveal the abuse to a trusted adult. That means there are many young adults carrying around with them a very tragic and very dangerous secret.

Teen dating violence can have long lasting effects and very serious ramifications. It can put a teen at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence. Half of youth who have been victims of both dating violence and rape attempt suicide. That's compared to 12.5% of non abused girls and 5.4% of non-abused boys. Those numbers are frightening.

What can be done? Parents can get involved. Talk to your teens about who they are dating and what is going on in the relationship. Be aware of the signs of an abusive relationship and have open communication with your teens so that it is safe for them to talk about what is going on. Also, download the iPhone app “Love is not Abuse”. There is a wealth of information to learn about  the signs, how to talk to teens, what to do, support groups etc. It's important to be informed and to take action.

If you're not a parent of a teen, it's still important to take notice. Most likely you know of a teen somewhere or will encounter one at some point in the future. It's important that we all take notice and work to stop the violence.

For more information visit the Hope House website: hopehouse.net or visit loveisrespect.org. If you're in a teen violent relationship there is help. Call the Teen Dating Violence hotline 1-866-331-9474 or the Hope House hotline 816-461-HOPE. You don't have to experience this alone.