21 October 2015 – The ALLICE-Alliance for Community Empowerment Kumares & Kumpares, in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate General in San Francsico, Union Bank, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and the Thomasians USA held the 11th Annual Free from Violence Seminar and Resource Fair on October 01 at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.
The ALLICE Kumares & Kumpares are a team of Filipino-American volunteers organized to promote healthy family relationships through educational presentations. The name is eponymous to, and invokes the work of, its honorary chair, Alice Peña Bulos, widely acknowledged as the “godmother of the Filipino American community.”
Free from Violence is a free seminar and resource fair focused on domestic abuse, or the pattern of behavior where an intimate partner controls the other through different forms of attacks. This year celebrates the 11th year that the annual seminar and resource fair is held.
The Philippine Consulate General partners with ALLICE to reach the Filipino-American Community and provide support to persons and households who are victims of abuse, as well as the abusers who wish to reform.
The program included a pledge to help end domestic violence, which was led by Deputy Consul General Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, and a keynote speech by the Honorable Helen Fisicaro, Member of the Colma City Council. Abuse survivor Marlene Caballero gave a testimony of how she was able to escape an abusive relationship, and encouraged those who are going through abuse to seek support. The resource fair made available important contact numbers of organizations that can provide physical and emotional support to victims and family members, as well as information promoting healthy family relationships.
In 2014, the seminar and resource fair was held at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center. The partnership with ALLICE is part of the Consulate’s efforts to mainstream Gender and Development to benefit not just the Consulate’s personnel, but also the Filipino-American community at large.
The event was attended by around 120 people, including Filipino-American Mayors Joanne del Rosario of Colma, and Raymond Buenaventura of Daly City, elected Bay Area officials, and doctors and nurses from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. The program was followed by a reception. END