An Inspirational Story

I was rushing down the stairs at 2nd law late for class as usual when a small flyer caught my eye "Women Against Abuse” needed an advocate in the Philadelphia DA’s Private Criminal Complaint Unit". I quickly wrote the number down to shove it into my bags and hurried to class.

That began my work with victims of domestic violence. Before I knew it, I was stationed across the street from the Roundhouse in a room filled with retired and disabled Philadelphia police officers who had been put on desk duty.

With old fashioned typewriters they filled in countless complaints from citizens regarding neighbor disputes. I was given a little space in an alcove in the back of the office. My job was to screen the petitioner’s seeking protection from abuse orders (PFA’s). These petitioners would later be standing in line in a filthy room at the Round House in order to receive a temporary PFA. In 1989 that is how the victims of domestic violence received temporary orders.

One day, a young woman named Ana Ortiz came to my desk; her eyes filled with tears as she explained to me how she had had an older boyfriend who had beaten her, so she left him and was now being stalked by the same man.

I assisted Anna in her paperwork and determined that she was eligible for a PFA and then later, she returned to the Round House to receive her temporary protection order. As fate would have it, I was invited that week to actually attend PA Court which, in the late eighties, was held on Fridays so this was the first time that I actually got to see a victim that I had helped, seek a final protection order. In the hallway, we exchanged a hug and went into the courtroom and watched as she received her final protection order.

Anna was from Puerto Rico and had decided that when she had her protection order she was going to go back to Puerto Rico for a visit to see if the situation with her formal boyfriend would calm down. On that following Monday, Anna went to the elementary school where she was a teacher's assistant to bring a copy of the PFA to the school.

As she walked into the playground, the man she had sought protection from laid in wait and shot her in view of many of the school children including those who she personally knew as their teacher’s assistant. There is a playground in Northeast Philly named for Anna Ortiz and she will always remain in my heart. Her courage was and remains an inspiration to me.