For four days we were pleased to have with us three visitors from Panama who were here on a informative program on Combating Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women and Children.
On their first day, Debra Bond, Office Manager at Gulf Coast Kid’s House, was a fantastic host who rearranged her schedule to meet with the group to give them a tour of their amazing facility. The group was incredibly impressed by the center’s streamlined and child-focused approach to prosecution and treatment of cases of sexual abuse or physical abuse in children.
Following their time at the Kid’s House, the group then headed over to the First Judicial Court of Florida to meet and talk to Judge Thomas E. Johnson before observing his video court. The group then was greeted by Gregg Marcille, Assistant State Attorney, who took time to participate in a lengthy and informative Q&A session with the group and Shelly De La Concha, Victim/Witness Counselor, regarding procedures and prosecution of domestic violence cases. Their last appointment of the day was observing a violation of probation proceeding presided over by Chief Judge Terry D. Terrell.
The following morning, Sandie Liebenguth met the group at the PACE Center for Girls where they toured the facility, a school designed to keep at-risk girls out of the juvenile-justice system.
Following this appointment, the group headed to the University of West Florida’s Criminal Justice Department to meet with Dr. Richard Hough to discuss fatality review procedures past domestic abuse and statistics. Dr. Hough was even kind enough to drive the delegation to their next appointment to ensure they didn’t get lost!
The delegation’s final appointment was at Favor House of Northwest Florida. Sue Hand, Executive Director, and Fred Sulzbach met the group and gave an overview of domestic violence in the region. Next, the Panamanians visited a local shelter which provides housing to victims of domestic abuse.
That night, the delegation enjoyed their free evening at the lovely Pensacola Beach Hilton where the indoor pool took the chill out of the Autumn evening. Thank you to everyone who helped make this project a success!
