The public is invited to break the silence of domestic abuse with Finding Our Voices on Wednesday. April 22 with a 1 p.m. protest in front of the post office on Main Street in Farmington followed by a 4 p.m. survivor-led community conversation at the Carrabassett Valley Public Library.
According to Patrisha McLean, CEO/founder of Finding our Voices, the April 22 events are in response to the shooting death of 23-year-old Makayla Rose Desantis in Carrabassett Valley on International Women’s Day. Makayla’s longtime boyfriend Austin Doucette is charged with her murder.
“We are coming to Franklin County on April 22 out of love for a sister-survivor,” said McLean of the statewide nonprofit, “and out of outrage over the femicide and epidemic of domestic violence in our state.”
The library event from 4-5:30 p.m. will feature survivors sharing their experiences of entrapment and escape, and advising how to spot signs of intimate partner abuse and best help those they are worried might be suffering from this.
Participants of the 1-3 p.m. protest are encouraged to bring signs about what they want the public to know about domestic abuse, and to wear yellow which is the color of Finding Our Voices.
Noel Richardson will be one of four survivor- panelists at the 4 p.m. Carrabassett Valley Public Library event. Noel’s then-partner punched her in the mouth in Franklin County in 2023 while she was holding their baby. Finding Our Voices provided Richardson with legal help to get a 15-year restraining order for herself and her baby, and matched her with their program of donated dental care to fix her broken teeth. She is now an honors student at Central Maine Community College.
Finding Our Voices is the grassroots and survivor-powered nonprofit spreading awareness and education about domestic abuse across Maine, including in schools, and providing critical resources to women survivors to escape, get their children safe, and rebuild their lives.
For more information visit https://findingourvoices.net or contact McLean at [email protected].
