Patrisha McLean, founder and CEO of the Maine nonprofit Finding Our Voices, is set to be a featured speaker on a Monday, Oct. 21, webinar co-sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women.

Patrisha McLean is shining a light on domestic abuse in Skowhegan, Lewiston, Falmouth, Portland and across the U.S. during October’s Domestic Abuse Awareness Month. Photo by Mary Kamradt

“Building Safer Communities: Addressing Domestic Abuse” highlights community and advocacy approaches for improving safety for families and individuals. McLean was invited to share the survivor-powered approach and programs that Finding Our Voices is bringing to women and children domestic abuse victims across Maine.

The free online discussion is from 6-7:30 p.m. and open to the public by registering at findingourvoices.net or ncjwcns.org.

Sponsors of the Domestic Abuse Awareness Month event are the National Council of Jewish Women Chicago North Shore and SHALVA in Chicago. SHALVA is the oldest independent Jewish domestic abuse agency in the United States. The National Council of Jewish Women advances social change through a faith-based Jewish lens, bringing together activists across generations and across the country.

Women leaders joining McLean on the webinar are Amanda Pyron, executive director of an umbrella organization of 40-plus Chicago groups dedicated to improving lives of those impacted by domestic violence; Marlene Copeland, executive director of SHALVA; and Elizabeth Ury, director of Jewish Community Engagement at JCFS Chicago.

On Saturday, Oct. 5, in Skowhegan, McLean will be giving a morning presentation on how she found her own voice after three decades of domestic abuse, leading to her forming Finding Our Voices, at the first Women’s Health Conference at Redington-Fairview General Hospital, which runs from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

For more information about Finding Our Voices’ October events, visit findingourvoices.net.

Check out other upcoming area events!