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On July 26, 2006 OVW hosted the D.C. Metropolitan Regional Summit at the
Hamilton Crowne Plaza in Washington, DC. The purpose of the Summit was
to bring together STOP subgrantees from Washington, DC, Maryland, and
Virginia to discuss cross-jurisdictional coordination in the response
to violence against women. OVW Director Diane Stuart opened the summit
by asking the attendees to both listen and learn from the day's activities.
She discussed the necessity of the coordinated community response and
the importance of applying it to the entire D.C. Metropolitan Area.
The keynote speaker was Lisa Spicknall, a Victim Advocate in the Prince George's County Sheriff's Department. In 1999, Ms. Spicknall's abusive husband killed their two children, Destiny and Richie. Ms. Spicknall now works with domestic violence victims to help them navigate the criminal justice system. Another featured guest was Yvette Cade. Ms. Cade's former husband walked into her place of employment, doused her with gasoline, and lit her on fire. She suffered third-degree burns over half of her body, including her face. Ms. Cade has become a "living witness" to the horrors of domestic violence and strongly advocates for battered women who find themselves in similar situations. Both Ms. Spicknall and Ms. Cade were honored by the Office on Violence Against Women with special "survivor" bracelets.
The lunch speaker was Sheriff Michael Jackson from Prince George's County Sheriff's Department. Since entering office, Sheriff Jackson has made domestic violence a priority for the County by initiating the Domestic Violence/Community Services Unit to provide expanded outreach and education throughout the county. Sheriff Jackson spoke about his department's commitment to the victims they serve. He discussed the protective order initiative in Prince George's County, where the sheriff's deputies have taken over the responsibility of serving domestic violence protection orders. This practice is currently operating in one of the County's districts, with implementation in other districts planned over the next several years.
Throughout the day, Summit participants were separated into small groups that were divided by discipline, jurisdiction, and subject matter. The topics of discussion included gaps in service, barriers to delivery of service, training issues, sharing protocols, and networking. By the end of the day, each jurisdiction made a commitment to convene regularly, form regional task forces, develop regional listservs for sharing information and explore more cross-jurisdictional training opportunities.
2008 Events and Meetings
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