1 Proclamation
Whereas, October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to honor the victims and survivors of intimate partner violence by advocating for proven tactics to save lives.
Whereas, the website of Building Futures, a non-profit organization in Alameda County, founded in 1988 to provide shelter and specialized support services to domestic violence survivors and their children, describes domestic violence as a pattern of coercive or manipulative behaviors and actions that one partner uses to establish and maintain long-term relationship control and domination.
Whereas, abusive behavior includes verbal or written insults meant to hurt you; intimidating and threatening behavior (i.e. punching a hole in the wall, throwing objects around or at you, displaying weapons, verbal threats); threats to harm, to abandon, to report you to ICE, to commit suicide if you leave; isolation from your family and friends; controlling where you go and who you talk to, what you wear, where you work; economic and financial control, i.e. not letting you work outside the home, taking all the money and making you ask for money for everything, and lying about assets and savings; and
Whereas, domestic or intimate partner violence affects people across all races, socioeconomic statuses, ethnicities, and religions. It can be found in every neighborhood, city, and state across our nation; and
Whereas, in 2023, the Alameda Police Department received 197 domestic violence-related calls from across the island; and
Whereas, on July 10, 2024, a horrific act of domestic violence and gun violence occurred in Alameda when a local resident shot and killed five family members in their home, including his wife Brenda Natali Morales, their young sons, six-year-old William and 14-month-old Wesley, Brenda’s mother Marta Morales Diaz, and Marta’s husband, Miguel Angel Carcamo Ramirez; and
Whereas, the organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns notes that “domestic violence and gun violence are deeply interconnected, with devastating impacts on individual survivors and victims, their families, communities, and the nation. Every month, 76 women are shot and killed by intimate partners, and nearly one million women alive today have had a gun used against them by an intimate partner and millions more have been threatened with a gun. Access to a gun makes it five times more likely that a woman will die at the hands of her abuser; and
Whereas, in June 2024, the United States Supreme Court in United States vs. Rahimi, upheld the longstanding federal law that prohibits domestic abusers subject to protective orders from possessing guns.
In doing so, it reversed a lower-court decision and confirmed that domestic abusers under these orders do not have the constitutional right to possess a gun. Many states, including California, have passed similar laws, empowering state and local officials to enforce prohibitions against these individuals; and
Whereas, incidents of domestic violence can be significantly reduced through a combination of support services, education, and advocacy such as those provided by Building Futures which include a 24-hour crisis line, education, and individual and group counseling for survivors of all gender identities, and by legislative and legal action provided by organizations such as Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Everytown for Gun Safety; and
Whereas, the City of Alameda’s Domestic Violence Task Force—comprised of representatives from Alameda Boys & Girls Club, Alameda Family Services, Alameda Hospital, Alameda Police Department, Alameda Point Collaborative, Building Futures, Family Violence Law Center, Girls Inc. of the Island City, and the Social Service Human Relations Board —coordinates domestic violence prevention and intervention services, and works to create a domestic violence‐free community.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that I, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Mayor of the City of Alameda, hereby proclaim the month of October 2024 to be
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
2 in the City of Alameda, and encourage Alameda residents to seek help if you are experiencing domestic violence, or know someone who is. Please call Building Futures ’24‐hour crisis line: 1‐866‐A‐WAY‐OUT or 1‐ 866‐292‐9688. “You are deserving and worthy of love that is respectful and kind.”*
Building Futures is also a certified provider of California’s 40-Hour Domestic Violence Counselor Training. If you are interested in taking this training, please visit Building Futures’ website, bfwc.org.
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
Mayor