S.A.V.E. honors local officers

The media constantly covers stories about domestic violence because it’s an issue that won’t go away. Headlines like “Man arrested for Domestic Abuse”, “Woman attacks spouse”, “Parents in  custody for harming child” and so forth has been smeared across headlines. Our media is constantly covering stories about domestic violence because it’s an issue that won’t go away.

Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments is an organization that battles the violence that is prevalent in so many lives. The organization advocates for men, women, and children who have been affected by domestic violence since 1976.

On Tuesday, Jan. 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. SAVE is hosting the second annual “Cop’s for COPS” event at Washington Hospital, honoring five law enforcement officers from Fremont, Hayward and San Leandro.

“COPS [Community Oriented Preventation Services] is one of the programs we have where SAVE advocates are placed at local police stations,” said Assistant Director of SAVE’s community outreach, Tina Fernandez. “The advocates work closely with officers to help individuals who have been affected domestic violence.”

Officers Ken Landreth, Libier Ledezma, Paul Richards, Jamil Roberts, and Detective Abe Teng will be recognized for their hard work on behalf of the individuals who have been affected by violence.

“They have been recognized by the advocates they work with through COPS as men who have gone above and beyond to help victims. These officers refer individuals to us and are closely involved with each case,” said Fernandez.

Not only are these men being recognized by SAVE at the Cop’s for COPS event on Tuesday, they will also receive certificates of honor from guest speakers: Senator Bob Wieckowski, Board of Supervisor’s Scott Haggerty and Assembly member Richard Bloom.

Just last year in San Leandro alone, officers have helped 200 victims of domestic abuse with the help of SAVE. A number that Fernandez hopes will continually grow in 2015.

Not only does SAVE want to increase the number of people they help in violent situations, they are want to also raise community awareness by hosting different social events.

“We recently held an event called “Happy Hour to Empower.” It’s an opportunity to get out into the community and tell people about our organization and what we do,” said Fernandez.

If you want to attend a “Happy Hour to Empower” event or are interested in volunteering within SAVE’s organizations more information can be found at www.save-dv.org. To attend Tuesdays free event, Cops for COPS, please RSVP by tomorrow, Jan. 9 to Samantha Hewitt at (510) 574-2250 x110.