Donation will be an annual ‘Lifeline To Safety’ domestic violence initiative in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month
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Middlesex District Attorney Leone donated over 100 forfeited cell phones to RESPOND Domestic Violence Shelter in honor of October being Domestic Violence Awareness month.

DA Leone announced today at RESPOND’s Somerville office the first of an annual initiative to donate forfeited cell phones to domestic violence organizations in Middlesex County.

The cell phones, garnered through the drug forfeiture process, have virtually no market value but are invaluable to a DV organization by providing a literal lifeline to shelter residents.  The donation to the shelter utilizes a Florida-based recycling program, Shelter Alliance, in which non profit domestic violence organizations exchange inoperable cell phones for funds that can be used to purchase pre-paid phone cards as well as food cards and prescription cards, providing vehicles which help prevent survivors from returning to an abusive situation out of need to provide life-sustaining items for their families.

Domestic violence is at truly troubling levels.  According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.  This creative, first of its kinds approach will be instituted annually and will provide a lifeline to safety for survivors, both literally and figuratively.

“Domestic violence is a complicated and troubling dynamic, in that intimate partners hurt those who they are supposed to love and protect, under circumstances that are usually surrounded by several barriers against disclosure by the abused.  We will continue to find creative ways to support abuse survivors and their dependents, enabling them to escape the power and control that creates life threatening situations,” District Attorney Leone said. “We are a proud partner with RESPOND, and support their mission to provide a safe haven and transition to a better life for victims and families who suffer from domestic violence.”

District Attorney Gerry Leone was elected in November of 2006 and took office in January 2007. Within four years, he has implemented a number of new initiatives designed to better protect and serve the people of Middlesex County. In 2007, Leone created a new Domestic Violence Unit to more effectively prevent and prosecute instances of domestic violence as well as better serve its victims. DA Leone has since developed an entire Domestic Violence Program that will soon be ready to be expanded by using more resources across the MDAO to serve and protect abused persons an their families, coupled with several initiatives that will compliment that approach.  These initiatives include a College Training where 200 members of law enforcement, health care, and administration from every college and university within Middlesex County and the surrounding areas are trained in the areas of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking and Cyber Crimes. In 2010, Leone created a domestic violence and animal abuse prevention initiative that is aimed at training law enforcement and first responders about the correlation between domestic abuse and animal abuse.

One year after the formation of the unit, Leone implemented a first-of-its-kind partnership designed to address a significant gap in the way that domestic violence victims are served during the civil restraining order process by partnering with private law firms to identify victims who need legal assistance and then assign a private attorney to provide pro-bono representation free of charge.

In addition to initiatives, DA Leone sponsors regional Domestic Violence Roundtable programs. The Roundtables work to bring together community partners who serve victims of domestic violence. Seven programs will be held this year throughout Middlesex County. DA Leone also sponsors an annual Domestic Violence Consortium where members of law enforcement, schools, and victim services agencies are brought together to encourage collaboration on issues surrounding domestic violence.

To better assist victims in Middlesex County, DA Leone has designated specific Domestic Violence Assistant District Attorneys in each district court who are trained and focused on the prosecution of those crimes. DA Leone has also launched a comprehensive effort to train and better coordinate with local police departments – helping them to better identify and investigate cases of domestic violence. In addition to on-site trainings, members of the Middlesex DA’s Domestic Violence Unit have also provided departments with:

· Roll call training video

· Risk Factor cards to help better identify high risk instances of domestic violence

· Dispatcher checklists and trainings to help better respond to DV victim calls

· A comprehensive domestic violence resource and training package

· Regular legal updates to keep the departments up to date on new domestic violence laws and caselaw

Each local police department has also committed to establishing a DV point of contact to serve as a liaison to the DV Unit.

Leone has also established a Domestic Violence Board in which each region in Middlesex County is represented by a police officer and a victim service provider. The purpose of the board is to ensure that the District Attorney’s Office is addressing the needs of domestic violence victims consistently and appropriately for the particular area of the county in which they reside.

Additionally, Leone’s office has partnered with organizations to form community-based High Risk DV rapid response programs in order to better assist victims in situations that have a high-risk of lethality. There are currently five teams already in place, with two more in the planning and implementation stages.

Lastly, Leone has implemented the national domestic violence prevention program “Cut-It-Out” in Middlesex County, an MDAO outreach effort to hairdressers who are often among the first people to notice or become aware that their clients are the victims of domestic violence. The MDAO’s Cut-It-Out program was modeled after the national program of the Salons Against Domestic Abuse Fund, which is dedicated to mobilizing salon professionals and others to recognize signs of abuse and to fight the epidemic of domestic violence in communities across the United States. The MDAO recently held a Cut-It-Out event on June 6 at the Nashoba Valley Technical School in Westford.

These programs are part of Leone’s continuing commitment to preventing domestic violence though education and training, and enforcing the laws through investigation and prosecution of domestic violence abuse.

Middlesex County is the largest county in Massachusetts and one of the largest counties in the country with 54 towns and cities and 20 colleges in urban, suburban, and rural areas, comprising over one quarter of the population of Massachusetts. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has offices throughout the county, including communities such as Ayer, Cambridge, Concord, Framingham, Lowell, Malden, Marlborough, Melrose, Natick, Newton, Somerville, Waltham and Woburn.