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Loud and Clear - October 2016 
    
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A Word from the President
  
Gun in Home = 500 Percent Increase in Risk of Intimate Partner Homicide
 
As we enter Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, consider this:  
  • The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500 percent.
  • Nationally, 19 percent of domestic violence involves a weapon.
  • A total of 454 people have been killed in gun-related domestic situations in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 2016.
     
    By law, a person who has been convicted of the felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is prohibited from owning firearms-as is a person under a permanent restraining order. However, gaps in the law do not prohibit gun ownership by people convicted of domestic violence against a current or former dating partner, people convicted of stalking and people under an ex parte (temporary) restraining order.
     
    The information above is from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Women's Voices' commitment to addressing gun violence as a public health issue includes advocating for protections for domestic violence victims. If you'd like to know more, contact us at gunsolutions@womensvoicesraised.org.

-Lise Bernstein       
Oct. 13 program goes beyond shelter: A holistic approach to homelessness 
  
With the recent opening of Biddle Housing Opportunities Center, the City of St. Louis is aiming to not only provide overnight shelter for 100 homeless men, but day shelter and an array of services to help homeless men, women and families move off the street and into permanent housing.

Eddie Roth, the city's director of human services, will talk about this new approach to homelessness. Roth has previously served St. Louis as the public safety director, implementing recommendations to reduce crime in St. Louis through improved coordination and communication in the city's criminal justice system, and as director of operations and deputy chief of staff to Mayor Francis Slay. Kathy Acre will also discuss her program BACK@YOU, a nonprofit organization which supplies backpacks to the homeless filled with essentials that help them survive life on the streets. Acre has worked with homeless families in a variety of capacities since 1984.

Although registration is not required, it does help us plan. Let us know if you'll be joining us by clicking here.

 
Beyond Shelter: A Holistic Approach to Homelessness
Thursday, October 13

Coffee and conversation at 6:30 p.m.
Program begins promptly at 7 p.m.
 
The Heights
(Maplewood-Richmond Heights Community Center)
8001 Dale Avenue
'South of Haunted Dreams: A Ride through Slavery's Old Backyard' discussion Oct. 13 

From Jeanne Bubb: "As I write this, I am listening to reports of shootings and protests in Tulsa and Charlotte. Join us to discuss the insights of this month's book, published in 1993. We will discuss ways in which these insights relate to the racial divide and strife of our day.

You still have time to read this interesting and timely book. You can purchase it for pennies through Amazon. The discussion takes place at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 13, just prior to our regular Women's Voices meeting (also at The Heights). For more details, go to our Racial Justice page on the website or email me at rjbubb@charter.net." 
The value of your membership
  
Did you know that Women's Voices membership has more than doubled in the past three years? Today we have 342 members, and member dues comprise 70 percent of our income. Another 630 people receive our emails but are not yet members. If you are not a member, please consider joining. It's easy using this link.

Member support makes possible our nine quality education programs each year, along with ongoing advocacy for social justice issues such as health care access/affordability, quality public education, reproductive justice, gun violence prevention and more.
 
Dues notices are emailed on the first of each month, based on the date you joined Women's Voices. Effective Oct. 1, our new annual  dues structure is $40 Bronze Level, $75  Silver Level, $100 Gold Level. Student dues remain at $10. Basic dues had been $25 for nearly 10 years. The board of directors voted at its August meeting to increase dues to cover the increased cost of our programs and membership services as well as anticipated future needs.

That said, cost is never a barrier to membership in Women's Voices. Should you be unable to contribute dues, please let our membership director know so we can renew your membership at no charge (membership@womensvoicesraised.org). All communications are kept strictly confidential.

Lock It For Love receives grants
  
Lock It For Love, our gun safety education and gun lock give-away project, received grants in 2016 from The Deaconess Foundation, The Children's Trust Fund and the Mid-America Transplant Association Charitable Foundation. We appreciate the generous support of these organizations. Funds are used to purchase gun locks and to produce educational materials.

Individuals can support the project by donating to our Preventing Gun Violence Fund. The cost of each gun lock is $5.  Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated.

Lots of Locks
  
Since April of this year, members of the Women's Voices Campaign for Common-Sense Gun Solutions have distributed 745 free gun locks at events throughout St. Louis City and County. Sixty-two percent of these locks were given to adults who live in zip codes that have been identified as "high risk" for violence against children.

If you are interested in participating in the Lock It For Love program, email gunsolutions@womensvoicesraised.org. Several events are scheduled for October
.  
Once more, into the breach...
  
We hate to use battle language, but there is a real battle going on in Missouri over all things gun-related: who can carry weapons, what kind of permits and training they should have, and under what circumstances firearms can be used. In June, Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed a dangerous bill that would enable almost anyone in Missouri to carry a concealed weapon, without first obtaining a permit and without any training.

The bill would also establish Missouri as a "stand your ground" state. Members of the Campaign for Common-Sense Gun Solutions called and wrote to legislators all summer, encouraging them to uphold the governor's veto. On Sept. 14, four members of the committee, including Mary Clemons, Mary Schuman, Ginny Weil and Barbara Finch, went to Jefferson City for the veto session. After an afternoon of debate on various issues (Should livestock owners be responsible for damages caused by their animals if the owners are not negligent? Should yoga students have to pay sales taxes on their lessons?), the governor's veto was overridden.

We have much work to do to make Missouri a safer and saner state. If you care about this issue, join our committee. Email gunsolutions@womensvoicesraised.org.  
Help us stay on top of health care
  
We're looking for one or two people to help keep our "ear to the ground" regarding health care issues by attending occasional Medicaid expansion coalition meetings and participating in weekly phone calls (January to May) to learn the most up-to-date information about health care issues. These activities don't require a lot of time or meetings but offer an opportunity to help Women's Voices stay updated on health care issues.

We've actively worked for affordable health care for all since 2005. We helped found Missouri Health Care for All, worked to promote the Affordable Care Act and have advocated for legislation (e.g., for insurance rate review in Missouri and for Medicaid expansion). If you're interested in helping and would like more information, contact us at healthcare@womensvoicesraised.org.

ArchCity Defenders to receive Ethics in Action Award
  
The 2016 Ethics in Action Award is being given to ArchCity Defenders, with a public ceremony set for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Ethical Society (9001 Clayton Road). The award is presented annually by the Ethical Society of St. Louis at the free event. ArchCity Defenders is a nonprofit civil rights law firm providing holistic legal advocacy and combating the criminalization of poverty and state violence against poor people and people of color.  
Volunteer opportunity: St. Louis Court Watch 
  
St. Louis Court Watch, a program that monitors the courtrooms issuing Orders of Protection to domestic violence victims, is looking for volunteers. The volunteer's role is to complete observation forms which are passed to a researcher for compilation into a report and recommendations. The commitment is once a month for a three-hour time period. The purpose of the program is to promote victim safety and offender accountability as well as to assure proper implementation of the Adult Abuse Law. A training will be held Nov. 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the YWCA Woman's Place (8300 Morgan Ford). For more information or to sign up for the training, contact Nina Balsam, St. Louis Court Watch coordinator, at ninab3@sbcglobal.net.  
   
Kudos to... Women Who Write! 
  
... to member Susan Flanagan, who wrote to the Jefferson County Leader after a conversation with state Sen. Paul Wieland, who expressed his unwillingness to uphold the veto of SB 656, a bill that would allow carrying a concealed weapon without training or permits. 
 
... to member Mary Clemons for her letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the newspaper's giving major coverage to a story about police dogs in Ferguson and lesser coverage to the Tulsa shooting -- as well as for writing to President Barack Obama about the need for common-sense gun solutions. The president responded to her letter, and both communications can be read here.  
 
... to member Andrea Bauman for her her letter saying that the gun bill (SB 656) does not preserve public safety and that the governor's veto should be upheld. 
 
... to member Beverly Rehfeld has for her letter to the Post-Dispatch about the crucial role played by our public defenders.  
   
BRAVO to all who raised their voices this month! 
  
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Looking for tips on writing letters to your newspaper?  Click HERE for general guidelines
on writing a letter to the editor and contact information for Missouri newspapers.
  
 
Helping former prisoners gain productive lives the focus of September program  
 
  First, identify the problem. Then look for the reasons. Then formulate the solution. That is exactly what speakers did at our Sept. 8 program. Carrie Pettus-Davis, PhD, founding executive director of Concordance Institute, and Jeff Smith, PhD, executive vice president of Concordance Academy, spoke about an innovative new program designed to reduce the high rate of prison recidivism.
 
Pettus-Davis said the skyrocketing incarceration rates in the U.S. are higher than in any other country and disproportionally higher among black and Hispanic men than white men. These rates are not a result of any differences in behavior or criminal activity but rather the result of long-standing systemic bias. Of the more than 10,000 prisoners who are released each week in the U.S., 77 percent are rearrested within 5 years. Prison itself is a crime-producing environment, with little or no mental health care and inmates whose incomes have been reduced to poverty levels or below.

Pettus-Davis has addressed these issues with evidence-driven research and a study of over 17,500 programs and articles. What worked? What didn't? Why? Realizing that this is a unique moment when people are motivated morally, politically and fiscally to work to solve these issues, the result was the formation of the Concordance Academy Reentry Program. Smith, a former Missouri state senator and a former prisoner, explained that the program recruits prisoners in Missouri who are within eight months of their release and who are returning to St. Louis City and County or St. Charles County. Prior to their release, program staff begin services, such as counseling, to reintegrate individuals to the community. Upon release, prisoners receive services in education and job readiness, employment, substance abuse and mental health, cognitive and relationship skills, housing, and community life.

Volunteers work with individual prisoners to help them readjust to community life. For more information on those efforts, contact Smith at jsmith@concordanceacademy.com. And to learn more about Concordance Academy or Concordance Institute, visit http://www.concordanceacademy.com/ and https://concordanceinstitute.wustl.edu.  
 
   
Not on Facebook?  
  
Here's what you missed on the WV Facebook page* this last month: 
  
The case for voting in local elections

St. Louis American article on voting rights under attack in Missouri

Government study shows expanding Medicaid can lower insurance premiums for all

New York Times article on court costs entrapping poor nonwhite juvenile offenders 

Article on new alternative to payday loans in St. Louis area

The high cost of incarceration
 
Missouri Public Service Commission no longer allows payday loan stations to accept utility payments

New York Times commentary from former superintendent of Oregon State Penitentiary on lessons learned from executing two men  

    
  
*To receive WV news feeds on Facebook, click:
and then click the "LIKE" button on our Facebook page.
  
   
Remember Circle of Concern at WV Programs
  

The non-perishable food items brought each month to WV meetings are donated to Circle of Concern, a food pantry serving needy families in west county.  

 

The pantry can always use whatever you would purchase on sale at the grocery store; wh y not buy one for you and one to donate?  They regularly need items such as cereal, peanut butter, tuna, soup, dry noodles, and canned pasta with meat.  For more information, click HERE to contact our donation coordinator, Ann Ross. 
  
Have something to submit for LOUD AND CLEAR?
  
Loud and Clear is the official monthly e-newsletter of Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice and is usually distributed on the last Monday or Tuesday of the month.  The general deadline for article submission is the 20th of each month; click HERE to contact editor Evie Hemphill.
 
 
 
MEMBERSHIP INFO
 
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You love what Women's Voices stands for, you love our focus on education and advocacy to make people's lives better, but you still haven't joined even though you think you should. Does this sound like you? Well, get rid of that nagging gut and join Women's Voices today!
  
 
By joining, you support an effective organization by helping it to continue outreach to the community and policymakers. Membership at the Advocacy Level goes a long way to help support administrative costs, such as rental of our meeting venue and the sending of this newsletter.
 
  
    
 
HOW TO RENEW...
 
We've made renewing simple: First, we send you an email reminder when it's time to renew (the month in which you joined Women's Voices). When you receive your reminder, you can renew your membership by clicking the PayPal link in the email reminder message.  Or, use one of the payment options at the right.
  PAYMENT OPTIONS...
             
Annual Dues:
  
$25 (Regular Membership)
$50 (Advocacy Membership)
$10 (Student Membership)

  
On the  Join Us page of our website, you can select any of the 3 membership levels and initiate a PayPal payment for that amount.

You can use the PayPal button below for a $25 Regular Membership. When the PayPal page appears, if you don't have a PayPal account, choose the "Don't Have a PayPal Account?" option to pay by credit card.
  
  
Send a check (payable to Women's Voices) to: 
    
Beth Alseth 
444 Clemens Avenue 
Kirkwood, MO 63122 
  
Bring cash or check
to the monthly meeting, where we have a basket for renewals and donations.