Quoted Text

Sch’dy has its hands full with domestic violence

    There is no doubt that public safety is a problem in Schenectady. What most Schenectadians do not know is the magnitude of domestic violence that plagues our homes.
    I recently attended the Eastern Avenue Neighborhood Association meeting, where two city police officers briefed attendees about recent break-ins, narcotics dealings and gang violence. Topping 911 calls to the police station, however, were domestic disputes: Eighty percent of 911 calls in the city are domestic violence-related. A newly trained officer was quick to add that domestic violence calls are the most dangerous ones received.
    While domestic violence is a crime that affects both men and women, women are the primary victims. Children often grow up in homes either witnessing domestic violence or being abused themselves. The number of child abuse reports has also signifi cantly risen in Schenectady County. According to the state Office of Children and Family Services, the number of Child Protective Hotline calls increased from 2,046 in 2005 to 2,506 in 2009. Some of these abused children will infi ltrate the juvenile justice system, become victims of crime, develop chemical addictions, struggle with depression and other mental illnesses, and perpetrate domestic violence onto another generation.
    As a family law attorney who has represented hundreds of domestic violence victims and several children that have been abused and neglected, we cannot afford to be silent. Every child in Schenectady has a right to grow up in a home free of violence. And every human being has a right to feel safe, whether they are at home or walking [around the city].
    It is time for residents, law enforcement, human service agencies and government officials to work together and solve this heinous problem that affects more Schenectady County residents per capita than any other county in upstate New York.

    HEATHER L. DUKES
    Schenectady
The writer is a candidate for City Council.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r03204&AppName=1

alot of undiagnosed mental illness....but....if you are dealing with depression Seroquel XL can help you run from that cloud.....Serenity and the Revers...this must be
the 1/10 of the population adversely affected by what is added to the water....

What we have here is a failure to communicate. Some men you just cant reach. I dont need your civil war