One of the reasons I started supporting Dean's campaign last summer was the record in Vermont from his work to prevent child abuse. I knew from his speeches that prevention was a big part of his plan in Vermont, prevention of disease, of abuse, of fiscal problems (controlling state spending), of environmental problems. I just read a letter from a Vermonter who was a battered spouse and now I know more about the details of how his prevention and his support of healthy homes and children, helped Vermont in long range goals that he had for welfare reform, crime prevention, education, etc.
The letter follows.
alice

======quote========

In Vermont, Dean showed his commitment to women, families, and small
                              businesses by pushing through legislation and programs that delivered real results.
                              Here, Laurie from Colchester Vermont shares her story.

                              I should probably start by just saying who I am.

                              My name is Laurie Hammond. I own a small business in Colchester, VT. It's a retail
                              store selling figure skating and dance wear.

                              Last Thursday I traveled to New Hampshire to attend Howard Dean rallies in Lebanon
                              and Claremont. I was especially moved when he spoke about the woman with bone
                              cancer he met eight years ago in Brandon, VT. He helped enable the surgery she needed
                              to survive her disease.

                              I, too, met Howard Dean eight years ago in Brandon. We were at the Fourth of July
                              parade. What he didn't know was I was a victim of domestic abuse. In 1996, when I
                              finally found the courage to change the lives of myself and my three daughters, I did not
                              expect what happened next.

                              At a time when my self-esteem was at an all-time low, and I was numb to emotion, I was
                              enveloped by Vermont agencies that joined to form a step-ladder I could climb.

                              The first step on the ladder was the Vermont state police. Under the Dean administration,
                              the Vermont state police had been carefully trained in the area of domestic abuse.

                              The state police had been trained to take you seriously, to educate you. They give you
                              information on what the possibilities are to get away from the situation.

                              Then, after I followed through and pressed charges, I got a letter in the mail that I totally
                              didn't expect. The Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services -- an agency I had no idea
                              even existed -- not only apologized to me because I had been abused in the state of
                              Vermont, but gave my three daughters and me a ten thousand dollar grant for
                              counseling.

                              It not only what we needed most -- counseling on how to climb ourselves out of an
                              abusive situation -- and we're still using that grant today.

                              A few months later, I turned to the Vermont Department of Social Welfare for assistance.
                              They put me into the Reach Up Program, a career-oriented agency. I said I wanted to
                              start my own business.

                              My Reach Up counselor suggested the micro business entrepreneurial training program,
                              which I believe is federally and state funded. (George Bush is trying to cut funds to this
                              program.) It cost six or seven hundred dollars that I didn't have, but the Vermont
                              Department of Employment and Training gave me a full grant to take the course. You're
                              forced to research your market, your demographic, everything you need to know to
                              really form a stable business plan with financial projections, everything you need to start
                              and maintain a successful business. And that's what I ended up doing.

                              I had to start over with nothing -- I had this aging Buick Park Avenue, and that's all I
                              had for collateral. I was turned to Vermont Job Start, which became a program in 1993
                              as mandated in Governor Howard Dean's Economic Progress Act.

                              Where I am today: I'm running a successful retail and manufacturing business. I have
                              two full-time employees beside myself who are making a livable wage. I also have two
                              part-time people working for me. I am contributing to supporting my family -- I have a
                              husband who has a job as well. I'm on the Vermont Job Start board. I am an active
                              Victim's Advocate. I've lobbied in Washington, DC for trying to help funding for all
                              these programs that I benefited from. I also volunteer in the Burlington office for the
                              Dean for America campaign, and I'll do anything I can to see him elected!

                              -- Laurie Hammond