Ads to target domestic violence

Public service announcements featuring actor Edward James Olmos are about to hit television and radio airwaves as part of a new campaign by local domestic violence shelter Safe Nest to save the lives of victims throughout the county.

The PSAs, done in both English and Spanish, were created as a means to reach as many homes as possible, according to Safe Nest executive director Estelle Murphy.

The PSAs are expected to begin airing shortly after Safe Nest's annual semi-formal dinner May 29.

"A third of all murders in the United States are related to domestic violence, and many end up right here," Olmos says at the beginning of the 30-second video filmed in a cemetery which ends with the 24-hour shelter's hotline, 646-4981.

The statistic is unusually appropriate for the Las Vegas audience, authorities say, because almost a third of Clark County homicides are the byproduct of in-home tragedy.

"Eight times a day, a black and white rolls to a domestic disturbance call involving family members," Sheriff Jerry Keller said Wednesday during a press conference regarding the PSAs. Also in attendance were Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell and Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic.

"Domestic violence is not something you can describe in just two words. People are being slugged and hit with fists, stabbed, shot ... along with meth, it's probably one of the biggest problems in this community. But we can't let the system be overwhelmed by the numbers."

Safe Nest is a non-profit agency operated by the non-profit corporation Temporary Assistance for Domestic Crisis Inc. It offers the only 24-hour shelter available in Las Vegas for domestic violence victims and their children.

The PSA's release will be followed by "The Helping Hands of Safe Nest," a 15-minute program discussing domestic violence and how Safe Nest works. The program will be shown at schools and meetings throughout the year.

"We have to do everything we can to break the cycle of violence," Del Papa said. "There is no excuse for violence. This is an issue that touches every life. It knows no boundaries ... and you have to reach to younger and younger ages with education."

Bell also stressed the value of public education and intervention as two necessary elements to reach "a day when homicides in the domestic arena are minimized.

"Our office deals with dozens and dozens of felony cases of homicide and substantial bodily harm."

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