Ceremony to Include a Moment of Silence in Honor of the Victims of the Boston Marathon Bombings
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin will join U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha, Colonel Steven G. O'Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Commissioner of Public Safety, Providence Police Colonel Hugh Clements and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at the annual Victims' Grove Ceremony to honor individuals and organizations committed to providing support and resources for victims. The public and media are welcome to attend.
In addition to recognizing local victims and victim advocates, the ceremony will be marked with a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, as well as slain MIT officer Sean Collier and injured MBTA officer Richard Donohue, Jr.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 12:30 p.m. in Memorial Park on South Main Street in Providence. Following a short speaking program, the honorees will lay a wreath in memory of all victims of crimes. The public and media are welcome to attend.
April 21 – 27, 2013 is National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a time to honor victims and advocates of victims' rights. This year's theme – "New Challenges, New Solutions" – brings awareness about the challenges faced by victims of crime and highlights the long struggle to establish victims' rights.
The 2013 honorees are:
Maryann and Robin Foote, who after losing their son Colin in a tragic motor vehicle accident in 2010, lobbied to change the law, calling for tougher penalties for habitual bad drivers. Their efforts resulted in the Colin B. Foote Act, or Colin's Law. Since the law was enacted, more than 500 habitual bad drivers have faced tougher penalties and required driver retraining courses.
Amy Goldberg, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Brown Medical School, and Director, Physical Abuse Diagnosis and Assessment Clinic at Hasbro Children's Hospital, is actively engaged in research on adolescent sexual assault and physical abuse of disabled children. Dr. Goldberg graduated from Boston University School of Medicine in 1997 and completed the Forensic Pediatric Fellowship Program at Brown in 2004.
One Voice is an advocacy group established in 2010 for survivors of sexual violence interested in generating awareness about and reducing the prevalence of sexual assault and child sexual abuse through public speaking and advocacy. In the three years since its inception, members have spoken at churches, colleges and universities, conferences, in the media and at two State House press events. These remarkable men and women are willing to share their difficult stories publically in order to dispel myths, change public perception and encourage other survivors to seek help and support. One Voice is a program of Day One.
SOAR (Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships) is a nationally recognized task force of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence and is made up of survivors of domestic violence. SOAR's mission is to promote, advocate and work towards the elimination of domestic violence and to embody and give visibility to the voices of abused women. SOAR is the only group in Rhode Island specifically working on systems change that entirely consists of domestic violence survivors, and is a leader among similar groups in the nation.
In 2012, SOAR produced, wrote and directed "Behind Closed Doors," an original play written and performed by 15 survivors of domestic violence. The performance is a true account of their experiences with domestic violence, hope and survival, and seeks to draw you into their lives to dispel the stigmas of this often misunderstood abuse.
The Victims Grove Ceremony is coordinated by the Rhode Island Crime Victim Service Providers Steering Committee, a collaboration of victim service providers from the federal, state and community level.
When: 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Where: Memorial Park, South Main Street, Providence