Domestic violence shelter address and phone numbers

October 17, 2007

Public Officials Support Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence

A Safe Place ’s 27^th Annual Dinner took place on Monday, October 15, 2007 at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort. Janine Latus, author of If I Am Missing or Dead, spoke about her heart-wrenching story regarding the reality of domestic abuse. Officials attending the dinner in support of A Safe Place included The Honorable Terry Link, Illinois Senator from the 30^th District; The Honorable Roycealee Wood, Regional Superintendent of Schools; The Honorable Carol Calabresa, Lake County Board member; The Honorable Cheri Ditzig, Zion Township Supervisor; and The Honorable Joseph Waldeck, Associate Judge for the 19th Circuit Court of Illinois.

Latus explained that one out of four American women will be battered by a partner. She encouraged the community to acknowledge the serious problem of domestic violence and understand that domestic violence affects every one of us. Domestic violence is rampant in every ethnic, religious, cultural, socio-economic, and age group. Every person, even if he or she is not aware, knows a victim of domestic violence.

In April 2002, Janine Latus's youngest sister, Amy, wrote a note and taped it to the inside of her desk drawer. "Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved," it read, "but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me..."

That same spring Janine Latus was struggling to leave her marriage -- a marriage to a handsome and successful man. A marriage others emulated. A marriage in which she felt she could do nothing right and everything wrong. A marriage in which she felt afraid, controlled, inadequate and trapped.

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