Advocacy Cafe
Orders of Protection with New Mexico Legal Aid
Description
Ms. Sheila Lewis and Leila Kelly will be talking about improving services to victims of domestic abuse, especially when it comes to dealing with emergency orders of protection (restraining orders) and our justice system. What makes the Order of Protection process hard? Orders of Protection are a tool survivors and those who help survivors can use to bridge to safety and the Order of Protection process is challenging to navigate. As practitioners we hold the tension between the dangerousness of domestic violence and creating spaces for survivors to feel empowered in their own life choices, that must be done in a trauma informed way. We'll look at the ways the Order of Protection process mimics the power and control dynamics found in domestic violence and how to support survivors through this process.
Facilitators
Leila Kelly is a Licensed Master Social Worker who works in the community supporting survivors of domestic violence. She holds an Integrated Studies Undergraduate Degree in Psychology, Criminal Justice and Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Her work history includes high-lethality domestic violence advocacy with Santa Fe Police Department/ Solace Crisis Treatment Center and Crisis Intervention, Case Management, and Therapeutic work for survivors of domestic violence at CHRISTUS St. Vincent Hospital. Currently, she supports survivors of domestic violence through her therapeutic practice with Umoja Behavioral Health and systemically through her consultative and community building work as the founder of Domestic Violence Specialists, LLC. She views communities from a systems perspective that seeks to understand how systemic gaps, institutional barriers and historical narratives impact our communities ability to resource needs around gender based violence, social justice and healing. She has a passion for serving her community through education and enjoys solving complex problems collaboratively.
After working as a Public Defender in both New York and New Mexico for over 30 years, Sheila Lewis began a second career as a policy advocate and lobbyist for New Mexico Women’s Justice Project and Drug Policy Alliance. Sheila has advocated for legislation on behalf of Santa Fe NOW, New Mexico Criminal Defense Attorneys Association and New Mexicans to End Gun Violence. She is a trainer for law enforcement and community organization on how New Mexico’s Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Law can be used to prevent suicide and gun violence. She is currently a legislative analysist for the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee.