O&R sponsors anti-domestic violence film

MONROE — Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. and Safe Homes of Orange County are sponsoring a free screening of the anti-domestic violence documentary “Telling Amy’s Story” at O&R’s Blooming Grove Operations Center, 500 Route 208, Monroe on Monday, Oct. 29, at 5:30 p.m.

The one-hour film’s screening will be followed by a discussion led by a panel of local experts in the field.

“Telling Amy’s Story” is a PBS documentary that depicts the events leading up to the domestic violence killing of a young mother by her husband in central Pennsylvania in 2001. This cautionary tale unwinds details of the event as uncovered by the investigating homicide detective and highlights the many points where outside professional help could have prevented what turned out to be an inevitable tragedy.

Space is limited. To reserve your place, call Eunice Cunha at Safe Homes of Orange County at 845-562-5365 ext. 101.

One of the screening’s sponsors, Safe Homes of Orange County, is a private, not-for-profit agency established in 1986 to provide comprehensive and confidential domestic violence services to victims and their families.

The other sponsor is O&R, which in 2010 introduced a set of initiatives designed to address the effects of domestic violence on the workplace. Those initiatives included stronger personnel policies and practices, more comprehensive education and training programs and increased communication efforts aimed at building awareness among O&R employees about the scope of the problem and the availability of assistance to cope with it.

“When domestic violence spills over into the job environment, the situation expands beyond the victim and includes the employees around her or him,” Liz O’Halloran, an O&R Benefits Manager and Safe Homes Board member, said in the press release announcing the screening. “That’s when domestic violence grows into a workplace stability and safety issue, and we have a responsibility to provide a mechanism to address those concerns.”