Humorist and author Gina Barecca.

The Rose Conrad Memorial Fund of Safe Futures, in partnership with Hadassah American Affairs of Eastern Connecticut will present an awareness raising event, The Power of Purple, An End to Domestic Violence on Thursday, April 4 at Three Rivers Community College located at 574 New London Turnpike in Norwich. Registration and resources at 6:30 p.m. with the program starting at 7 p.m. The event will feature resource tables, a short film, speakers and a panel discussion on domestic violence.

The keynote speaker is noted author, professor, humorist and Hartford Courant columnist, Gina Barreca. Dr. Grace Jones, President of Three Rivers Community College, will host the event. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.SafeFuturesCT.org or call (860) 884-8945.

Three women are killed every day in the U.S. by their intimate partners and one in four American women will be abused in her lifetime. Millions of our children are victims and bystanders of domestic violence and still many more victims are left in the shadows, paralyzed by fear, terror and shame and by the failure of our institutions to adequately recognize and respond. This program aims to bring domestic violence out of the shadows and into the open through awareness, education and action.

Everyone is aware of the great strides made in breast cancer awareness and the pink ribbon is a recognizable symbol. The color of domestic violence is purple and The Power of Purple campaign is striving to put purple on the map of our consciousness so it will be a recognizable symbol of the education and action needed to end domestic violence.

As Chair of American Affairs for the Hadassah chapter and founder of the Rose Conrad Memorial Fund of Safe Futures, Sheila Horvitz is chairing the event with a committee made up of representatives from many community organizations.

The Rose Conrad Memorial Fund was founded by Sheila Horvitz in 2005. As a matrimonial attorney in southeastern Connecticut for over thirty years, she saw the problem of domestic violence first hand, most dramatically in the murder of her client, Rose Conrad, at the hands of her husband during their divorce case. Out of that tragedy, the Rose Conrad Memorial Fund was born to bring awareness and education to the victims and their responders in the health, education, legal and criminal justice communities. Since its founding, the Fund, under the umbrella of Safe Futures, has mounted educational conferences, programs for children affected by domestic violence and fundraising events.

The keynote speaker, Gina Barreca, is a professor at the University of Connecticut, columnist for the Hartford Courant, and a featured speaker and humorist who has appeared on many television programs, including Oprah and Dr. Phil, CNN and NPR to discuss gender, power, politics and humor. She is also a best-selling author of many books and articles, including “They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted” and “Women’s Strategic Use of Humor”. She has written for publications as varied as The New York Times, Psychology Today, The Harvard Business Review and the Huffington Post. She is a 2012 “Voices and Visions” honoree of the CT Women’s Hall of Fame and winner of UCONN’s most distinguished teaching award.

Hadassah is the largest women’s organization in America and is committed to unwavering devotion to Zionism and American ideals. In the U.S., through its American Affairs branch, Hadassah reaches its goals by advocating for issues of importance to women and to the American Jewish community. Its advocacy includes policy statements, direct advocacy, legislative initiatives, and lobbying political leaders on the local, state and national level. Hadassah has been outspoken in support of initiatives to end domestic violence and is a strong supporter of the Violence Against Women Act, advocating for its passage in the current Congress.

In its policy statement on Violence Against Women, Hadassah “reaffirms its long-standing commitment to women’s rights and women’s health needs. To these ends, we actively condemn all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence. Hadassah therefore pledges to work directly to educate its members and their communities about violence against women, both inside and out of the Jewish community. Hadassah will also continue to advocate for legislative initiatives aimed at ending this violence and supporting the needs of battered women and their families.”

Safe Futures (formerly the Women’s Center of Southeastern CT) saves lives, restores hope and changes the future for those impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault throughout New London County. During the last year, Safe Futures saved the lives of 131 women and children who fled abuse and were sheltered at Genesis House, the safe house; restored hope for 16 households by providing housing, training and support through its Phoenix House transitional living program; and change the future for over 3,500 students, who participated in violence prevention education programs, including the popular VIP (Violence is Preventable) program. Hotlines and the women-and-children-only emergency shelter are staffed and operating 24/7/365, providing round-the-clock accessibility to Safe Futures’ free, confidential services. This past fall, Safe Futures re-opened a counseling office in Norwich, currently located within Backus Hospital on Mondays and Fridays.

Other groups who have joined the program as Community Partners as of this writing include Safe Futures’ Engaging Men group, supporters of the Men Against Domestic Violence Campaign; Backus Hospital, Southeastern Connecticut Women’s NETWORK; Otis Library; Madonna Place; Connecticut Federation of Democratic Women; Women’s City Club of Norwich; and United Community Family Services. The program will bring many community resources together for networking and sharing information and action ideas.