he Chronicle
The Chronicle 10/20/2015
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An Independent Newspaper Since 1877
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
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Amelia Ingraham
Roxanne Pandolfi
LEFT: Rose Hernandez looks at cards during the ‘In Her Shoes’ workshop on domestic violence at the Eastern Connecticut State University Student
Center on Monday. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. RIGHT: The Willimantic Public Library has a Clothesline Project set up,
along with information, to bring awareness to domestic violence.
The two sides of domestic violence
By MICHELLE FIRESTONE
Local events aim to raise awareness
Chronicle Staff Writer
WILLIMANTIC — Ines Rivera was
in her 20s when she met her husband,
Joseph Rivera.
Finding him handsome, she immediately became smitten and after just
three months, became pregnant with the
couple’s child.
Throughout their relationship, Joseph
Rivera was very controlling of his wife,
keeping track of where she drove, for
example.
Eventually, however, she was able to
leave him.
Neither Rivera is real — but they could
be.
Ines Rivera’s story was one of several
hypothetical scenarios presented during
“In Her Shoes,” a workshop held at
the Eastern Connecticut State University
Student Center Monday evening in recognition of National Domestic Violence
Awareness Month.
“In Her Shoes” was a two-hour, interactive event run by United Services during which participants explored the lives
of female domestic violence victims.
The event will also be held Oct. 27
from 2 to 4 p.m. in Room E239 at
Quinebaug Valley Community College,
742 Upper Maple St., Danielson.
Inside today’s Chronicle
State
Malloy, citing deficit, calls
for bipartisan budget talks.
See story on Page 7.
Sports
Windham Tech girls soccer
team qualifies for state
tourney. See story on Page 7.
Lotteries
Abby .................................. 6
Classified ........................ 11
Comics .............................. 6
Editorial............................. 5
Features .........................6, 8
Horoscopes........................ 6
Local News ....................2-3
Nation/World ..................... 7
Obituaries .......................... 4
Public Notices ................. 11
State................................... 7
Sports .....................9-10, 12
Television .......................... 7
Weather ............................. 2
Around town
Copyright (c)2015 Willimantic Chronicle 10/20/2015
‘Mommy
and Me’
MONDAY
cupcake
This month, United Service’s Domestic
Violence Program also has a display of
The Clothesline Project in the Killingly
and Willimantic public libraries.
The project is a visual display of Tshirts created by local domestic violence
survivors.
“There’s a lot of misunderstandings
about domestic violence,” said Patti
Brown, United Services child advocate/
community educator.
She noted, instead of wondering why
someone would stay in an abusive relationship, we should wonder how someone could abuse another person.
During the workshop, each participant
was given a character and had to make
decisions based on how they thought
their character would respond to various
scenarios.
Each card had the viewpoint of the
character and on the other side, the viewpoint of her partner.
Brown explained there are “two sides
to every story.”
People who are in an abusive relationship, she said, “hear their partner’s voice
whether they are with them or not.”
Topics the characters had to address
included social services, welfare, legal,
school and, even, worst-case scenarios
(Events, Page 4)
Consumers warned to
watch their electric bills
By LUTHER TURMELLE
Both standard service rates are set through
Dec. 31.
“Customers should be aware that switchConnecticut Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson
Katz is warning consumers who are either con- ing to a retail electric supplier can be a risky
sidering purchasing electricity from third-party proposition,” said Katz, whose office represents
providers or do so all ready to remain vigilant in the interests of consumers in utility rate cases.
“Some suppliers are charging certain customers
reviewing their bills.
Katz said data provided to the Connecticut more than twice the standard service rate, even
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority showed in the summer months. There is no ceiling on
more than three-quarters of customers of both the rates that third-party suppliers can charge
Eversource Energy and the United Illuminating you.”
OCC
has7:11
determined
that between
January
October
20,
2015
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by QContent
Co. paid more than the standard service rate
in
and August of this year, Connecticut customers
August if they used a third-party supplier.
The standard service offer is the generation of electric suppliers, as a group, paid more than
$23 million more for electricity than if they had
New Haven Register
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otived
9:30
the
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ortfied
Department from an e-mail received on Hillary Clinton’s privateThe
server
was not considered
by
Chronicle
10/20/2015
the agency to be secret at all.
At issue is Moussa Koussa,
a one-time intelligence chief
Republicans, who are trying to
show Clinton mishandled classified information while secretary of state, have argued that
Koussa’s name should not have
lawmakers that Koussa’s name
was not classified, according
to correspondence between the
spy agency and officials of the
House of Representatives panel
set up to investigate the Sept. 11,
House Benghazi committee on
Thursday to answer questions
about her handling of the 2012
attacks, her controversial private
e-mail server, and the Obama
Administration’s Libya policy.
Events aim to raise awareness of domestic violence
(Continued from Page 1)
that may involve a funeral home.
Brown noted women are more
commonly domestic violence victims, but men can be as well.
“It happens when there is an
imbalance of power,” she said.
According to a brochure given
at the event, signs of an abusive relationship are: stalking and
harassment; physical violence;
economic control, such as refusing to give the victim money or
preventing them from working;
being overly jealous about the
victim’s relationship with others;
disrespecting the victim’s family
or friends and keeping him or her
from seeing or talking to them;
and controlling means of communication, such as the victim’s
phone or computer.
United Services offers a variety
of services through its domestic
violence program — including
a 24/7 hotline, shelter, advocacy
and counseling services to domes-
tic violence victims.
United Services has two shelters
in the area — one in Windham and
one in Danielson — for domestic
violence victims and their children.
Brown said United Services
will take children up until the age
of 18 into the shelter.
According to a press release
from United Services, the agency
provided support to more than
1,000 adults and children from
July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015.
A brochure given out at the
event indicates a 2010 study
showed 95 percent of survivors
who sought assistance from a
local domestic violence agency
were more knowledgeable about
planning for their safety and more
hopeful about their future.
Some, however, cope in other
ways.
“A lot of times, victims of
domestic violence will turn to
alcohol or other substances to
cope,” Brown said.
United Services has
two shelters in the
area for domestic
violence victims.
Brown explained the difference
between a protective order and a
restraining order.
A protective order, she said, is
issued in criminal court, while a
restraining order must be requested and is issued in family court.
Brown spoke to the issue of
domestic violence as it relates,
specifically, to northeastern Connecticut.
“We do have high numbers for
domestic violence, considering
how small some of our towns
are,” she said.
Some domestic violence victims leave their abusive partners
while others stay with them.
For those who choose to leave,
it is often hard to get back on their
feet, as was the case for many of
the characters mentioned during
the workshop.
When Ines Rivera left her husband with her children, for example, she changed her identity to
avoid Joseph tracking her down.
That decision, however, made
it difficult for her to find work
and after two months, she lost her
job when an employer could not
verify her identity.
Ines Rivera was a nurse, but
her educational background was
not valid when she changed her
name.
“When you change your name,
any degree you have is no longer
valid,” said Brown.
United Services Domestic Violence Program in Willimantic can
be reached at (860) 456-9476.
The 24/7, confidential hotline can
be reached at (860) 456-9476 or
(860) 774-8648. To learn more
about United Services, visit www.
UnitedServicesCT.org.
Classified Dept. at 860.423.8466, ext. 3363, or 860.423.8466, ext. 3337 after 5 p.m. on Fridays
Copyright (c)2015 Willimantic Chronicle 10/20/2015
October 20, 2015 7:14 pm / Powered by QContent