Domestic Violence Action 3 (Photo credit: UMWomen)
If Vermont’s domestic violence victims can’t get to the lawyer, there’s one who can come to them.
Wynona Ward was 48 years old when she graduated from law school. I had the privilege of getting to know her when we collaborated on a project to expand services to domestic violence victims in Vermont several years ago.
An abuse survivor herself, Ward left home at the age of 17. She married her childhood sweetheart Harold and went to work as his partner in long-distance trucking. Her work-life took a dramatic turn when she learned that a child her family had been abused by her (Ward’s) brother.
To say that Ward ‘took action’ is a bit of an understatement: she became a volunteer victims’ advocate and worked with her own family members to convict her brother. The experience propelled her back to school… and beyond.
Winona Ward became a family law attorney and founded Have Justice Will Travel enabling her to bring compassion, expertise and options to the homes of some of Vermont’s most isolated victims of domestic violence.
Voted one of CNN’s Heroes of 2009, you can read more of her story here. Or, go directly to the Have Justice Will Travel website to learn more about this remarkable woman and her innovative — and life saving — work.
