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Come Have Coffee
Over the next few weeks, we’re hitting the road again and would love to have you join us at our #RoadtoRights Community Coffees.
This will be a casual event where we can meet with members of your community who want to learn more about the movement to give Iowa crime victims equal rights in our state constitution.
Whether you’re our biggest supporter, have a few follow-up questions or just want to get more information, we’d love to have you join us at one or more of the following events:
|
City |
Date |
Time |
Location |
Address |
|
9/4/19 |
8 a.m. |
The Sanctuary Coffee House |
||
|
9/4/19 |
8:30 a.m. |
Mutchler Center |
||
|
9/4/19 |
10 a.m. |
The Coffee Connection |
||
|
9/4/19 |
12:30 p.m. |
Chariton Public Library |
||
|
9/5/19 |
8:30 a.m. |
Central Park Coffee Co. |
||
|
9/5/19 |
11 a.m. |
Revelations Café |
||
|
9/12/19 |
9:15 a.m. |
Council Bluffs Public Library |
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|
9/13/19 |
8:30 a.m. |
Onawa Community Center |
||
|
9/13/19 |
11 a.m. |
Norelius Community Library |
||
|
9/13/19 |
2 p.m. |
Community Rec Center |
We plan to expand these conversations into other communities as well, so please let us know if you think we should come to your town.
Empowered Survivors
A few months ago, I noticed a post on social media about a woman from Davenport who was surprised with the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting Local Communities.
Dr. Kit Ford, founder of Argrow's House, was being recognized in Washington, D.C. for her incredible effort to “multiply good” in her community, in our state and country.
Shortly thereafter, I reached out to Dr. Ford on a swing through eastern Iowa, where I was meeting with Marsy’s Law for Iowa supporters and making new connections. Dr. Ford graciously agreed to meet with me and learn more about our efforts in Iowa to give victims of crime constitutional rights.
It was during that trip that I was able to tour Argrow’s House in Davenport and get a firsthand understanding of Dr. Ford’s incredible impact on the community and the life-changing experience she is offering for survivors of abuse and violence. Argrow’s House is a safe space where survivors come for healing and support. Part of their efforts to empower the women they support includes the production of incredible soaps and bath products which give the women a place to create and also earn a wage.
photo courtesy of Argrow's House
Since my trip, Dr. Ford and Argrow’s House have become active partners in our efforts for victims’ rights in Iowa. It has truly been an honor to work with this organization and their incredible survivors who continue to find new ways to empower themselves and others. As they now lend their voices to our cause, their voices will create positive outcomes for others.
I hope you'll visit their page and support their mission.
Thanks for reading,
Eric
Marsy's Law for Iowa State Director
Meet Mary Kate
We're continuing the introductions of our valuable team this week. Please meet our newest addition, Mary Kate.
The Legal System Was Supposed to Protect Us
During National Crime Victims' Rights Week this year, brave victim survivors, Leigh and Audrey shared their story. You can watch the media account here or check out their opinion piece that ran in local newspapers. For Leigh and Audrey, there is power in sharing their story and using their voices for change.
Meet Sarah
Hello! My name is Sarah Shambrook and I am the Political Director for Marsy’s Law for Iowa. I oversee the day-to-day operations of our field team to ensure that we are speaking with Iowans all across the state with a vested interest in crime victims’ rights and gaining knowledge from their combined experience, stories and beliefs along the way.
After graduating from Drake University (Go Bulldogs!) in 2015 with a degree in Law, Politics & Society and Rhetoric, I spent three years working as a paralegal in a heavy litigation firm. There I realized the detrimental effects laws could have on everyday people if the laws and policies were written without a concern for how they would affect different types of communities and people. I decided that instead of working within the confines of the law, I wanted to be a changemaker to help write and pass better policy with an understanding of how the language of the law may be carried out in different communities.
Marsy’s Law for Iowa affords me the stellar opportunity to not only see the legislative side of policy making, but also be immersed into the campaign trail of talking with and learning from everyday voters and community leaders across the state to make sure the policy we recommend is mindful of individual community needs and concerns – plus it’s bipartisan, so who can beat that?
I’m a firm believer that law and society have a cyclical relationship, and my hope for Marsy’s Law for Iowa is that we can work together with the state and survivor/advocate community to ensure that victims and survivors of crime are afforded the basic constitutional rights we all deserve to ease even the smallest burden of dealing with the (albeit confusing, tricky and sometimes unfair) criminal justice system. Affording victims of crime constitutional rights in Iowa helps to signal a culture change in our state to show those going through a system that they did not ask to be a part of that we believe you, we know this is hard, and we are here to help.
I look forward to meeting you and hearing why you care about crime victims’ rights!
Sarah
You can reach me at [email protected]