[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 21254-21255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            OCTOBER MARKS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, October marks Domestic Violence Awareness 
Month, and I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. 
Biggert) for arranging Members to come to the floor and remind my 
colleagues about October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
  This is a time of heightened awareness of the problem, and a time to 
discuss what our society and local communities can do to help. I would 
like at this time to talk briefly about the Call to Protect program. As 
a participant in this program, my offices have collected thousands of 
phones from around the country to donate to victims of domestic 
violence.
  Call to Protect is a domestic violence prevention project. It 
provides those in danger with instant access to help in the form of a 
wireless phone. Donated phones are programmed so that victims can reach 
emergency personnel with a click of the button. This gives victims the 
power to protect themselves rather than live in fear.

[[Page 21255]]

  This program has helped thousands of women. One success story is 
particularly close to me as it happened in my district. Brandon Pope, a 
5-year-old boy, used a donated phone to save his mother's life in 
Centralia, Illinois. Brandon's mother, Sandra, was a victim of systemic 
abuse from her husband. She sought assistance from a domestic abuse 
help center, and received an emergency wireless phone through the Call 
to Protect program.
  Unfortunately, the physical effects of the domestic abuse caused 
Sandra to have occasional seizures. In February, Sandra suffered a 
particular strong seizure that caused her to fall and lose 
consciousness. Having learned about 9-1-1 in his Head Start class, 
Brandon used his mom's wireless phone to call for help. Paramedics 
arrived on the scene and quickly administered treatment. The wireless 
phone donated to Sandra was the family's only means of communication.
  This is only one story of many where ordinary citizens and community 
organizations come to the aid of a victim of domestic abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to especially thank the Cellular 
Telecommunications Industry Association, CTIA, who run the Call to 
Protect program; and Motorola who refurbishes all of the donated phones 
so victims have access to emergency numbers. Due to the services of 
these companies, this program truly saves lives.

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