Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id gA5HYSX27591; Tue, 5 Nov 2002 12:34:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002 12:34:28 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <20021105173222.67968.qmail@web20805.mail.yahoo.com> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Mary Lou Sewell <mlsewl@yahoo.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:2366] Re: In Memorium: Sheila Wellstone X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Status: O Content-Length: 7351 Lines: 197 Dave and Alexa, I thought you might be interested in this e-mail. Hope all is well. Love, Mom --- Daphne Greenberg <alcdgg@langate.gsu.edu> wrote: > If any of you covered Senator Wellstone's death in > your classes, you may also want to share the > following about his wife: > > Sheila Wellstone, Unsung Women's Rights Activist > > By Peggy Simpson WEnews correspondent > > The death of Sheila Wellstone, one of the most > influential Senate spouses, meant the loss of a > leader who brought about historic changes for > battered women and welfare mothers in the United > States. > > WASHINGTON (WOMENSENEWS)--Sheila Wellstone was an > extraordinary political wife. And her death in a > plane crash on Oct. 26, with her husband, Paul, and > their daughter Marcia Markuson and three campaign > workers, has deprived welfare mothers, battered > women and their children of one of their most > passionate and skilled advocates in Minnesota and > Washington. > > Sheila Ison Wellstone was a Kentucky native, > described as shy by some. She had dropped out of > college to put her husband through graduate school > and, after he became a Carleton College professor, > she worked as a librarian and reared their three > children. She also was an organizer, in her own way. > > By the time Paul Wellstone won the upset race for > Senate in 1990, the only defeat of an incumbent that > year, Sheila had become a passionate voice on many > key issues. Her roots in Kentucky are credited with > being a catalyst for her husband's advocacy for > Appalachian coal miners, for instance. And she had > won national recognition for her own work on > domestic violence. > > Within Minnesota, she worked to increase the number > of battered women's shelters, and went herself to > the opening of every new one. An Oct. 30 profile of > her in the Minneapolis Star Tribune quoted Beverly > Dusso, executive director of the Harriet Tubman > Center in Minneapolis, as saying the once-shy girl > from Kentucky would stride into a shelter dining > room, sit down with the women there and "talk by the > hour." > > Through her advocacy, Dusso said, Minnesota put in > place an emergency one-stop call center for a > battered woman who is "kept on the line until we > find her a place to stay. That was all Sheila's work > and we were the first in the nation to do it." > > Sheila Wellstone: A Passionate Crusader for Children > of Battered Women > > As a senator's wife, Sheila Wellstone expanded her > advocacy not only on behalf of battered women but > also their children. When she arrived in town 12 > years ago, political activist Karen Mulhauser > introduced her to the network of "women involved > here in sexual assault and domestic violence." > Sheila Wellstone worked closely with them, but also > with researchers on family violence and on the > impact of violence on child witnesses. And she > worked to get the research translated into federal > programs. > > In a Feb. 16, 2001, speech to the Child Abuse > Prevention Studies program at the University of > Minnesota, Sheila Wellstone credited many experts on > the issues, including Jody Raphael of the Center for > Impact Research and her "amazing research, 'Trapped > by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse.'" As a result of that > work, "Paul and I were able to add the Family > Violence Option waiver to the Welfare Reform Bill," > she said in that speech. The option is now used by > 39 states and Guam. In dealing with victims of > domestic violence, the states can now waive federal > rules regarding required work, time limits, and > child-support cooperation. > > "It gives these women time to work on a safety > plan--on putting her life and the lives of her > children back together--without further risk of > abuse," she said in the address. > > In her 2001 speech, she talked about the legislative > proposal her husband had introduced, the "Children > Who Witness Domestic Violence Protection Act," which > would help finance schools to work with children who > were witnesses as well as beef up resources for > child-protection workers, domestic violence > advocates and police responders. That legislation is > still pending. > > After she and the senator visited the Betsy > Macalaster Grove program at Boston Hospital, which > takes a holistic and often communal approach to > working with the children of battered women, a > policeman giving them a ride to the airport said his > officers had been greatly affected by training about > children who witness violence against their mothers, > enabling them to better understand the dynamics of > this violence and to respond to the immediate as > well as longer-term needs of parents and their > children. > > Linked Gun Safety with Domestic Violence Laws > > Sheila Wellstone could be as caustic as her husband > in harpooning some of the conservative's policies on > children. She said the 1996 federal welfare > legislation, whose reauthorization this year has > been postponed, needs to address the many dilemmas > facing welfare mothers as they go to work. "We hear > of children being left with siblings too young to > care for another child and often that sibling is > resentful of having to care for a brother or sister; > we know that children are often let in unsafe > environments or with relatives and neighbors who > aren't responsible. Where are these families when we > talk about leaving no child behind?" > > Another of the issues that Sheila Wellstone worked > closely with Sen. Wellstone was gun safety. The > couple was instrumental in getting gun-safety > language into the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law > Enforcement Act, banning gun sales to individuals > who are under police restraining orders in domestic > violence cases. Federal prosecutors used the law in > late October to bring the initial charges against > the alleged Washington sniper, John Allen Muhammad, > whose ex-wife had told police she feared for her > life and had gotten a restraining order against him > in late 2000. (He got a gun anyway.) > > Peggy Simpson is a veteran reporter who covered the > 1970s-1980s women's political movement. She recently > returned to Washington after a decade in > Central-Eastern Europe, covering the > economic-political transition after the fall of > communism. > > > For more information: > > Minnesota Star Tribune--Paul Wellstone: > http://www.startribune.com/stories/1752/ > > U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone: > http://www.senate.gov/~wellstone/ > > Tubman Family Alliance: > http://www.tubmanfamilyalliance.org/ > > > > > __________________________________________________________________ > Women's Enews is a nonprofit independent news > service covering > issues of concern to women and their allies. To > receive your free > subscription go to > http://www.womensenews.org/subscribe_member.cfm > __________________________________________________________________ > To change your email address, send mail to > membersvcs@womensenews.org. > To change the frequency of your mail or to cancel > your subscription, > send a message to Member Services or use our online > form: > > http://www.womensenews.org/update_subscription.cfm > > > > > > __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/
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