Public Hearing on

"Proposed Standard for Safety and Security in the Public Sector throughout New York State"

Testimony of Ruth Negrón-Gaines, RN

New York State Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO

June 24, 2003

    Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members of the Hazard Abatement Board. My name is Ruth Negrón-Gaines and I am a former Intensive Case Manager employee, retired from the state of New York Office of Mental Health. I also served as Regional Coordinator for PEF in Long Island. Thank you for the opportunity to share my agonizing experiences as a victim of a stalker.

    I reported to work, walked into the office and the receptionist told me that I had a present. She handed me a brown paper bag. I opened it and in it was a pair of earrings and a bracelet. After some inquiries I found out that one of the agency’s male clients had left the package. After consultation with my colleagues we decided to have a male colleague meet with the client give him back the jewelry and tell him that, as employees, we are not allowed to accept any kind of gifts.

    After that the letters started to come to the office. Letters that rambled on about evil, Satan, how "I was his" and other very scary things. I reported this situation to my supervisor who informed me that there was nothing he could do since the letters were being sent through the U.S. mail.

    For about three weeks I pleaded with top-level administration to help me. I was told that they would move me from one office to another. I informed them that this particular client was very well informed of the case management network and that he would know of the move since it was to the office in the next town. I told the administration that I wanted to press charges against this individual and I was told that as an employee I could not do it.

    Stalking was a new problem at my workplace and the managers and supervisors didn't know how to respond to the danger, and could not afford me the understanding and protection I needed. As an employed stalking victim, my worry was not whether I would keep my job or be laid off, but rather whether or not I would be killed on the job by this stalker.

    I called my union representative who informed me that my health & safety was of the utmost importance since my stress level was so high that I could not eat and my nights were restless. I took matters into my own hands and went to the Victims Information Bureau and met with a District Attorney who explained to me the difference between harassment and aggravated harassment. He was very apologetic and very understanding. However, the bottom line was that there was nothing that could be done to help me or to help this sick human being.

    I was given an order of protection and told that if I received any other letters to take them un-opened to the local police department. The first time that I went there I had to go through another agonizing experience of repeating the story and the knowledge that I was not safe and that there was no one to protect me. Since the letters came to the office on a daily basis I was at the police department regularly. When the police officer at the desk saw me walk in and identify myself, some would say "Oh yes, you are the lady that is being stalked".

    I cannot remember how soon, but I was called to the police department one day and told that I would have to go with an officer to try and find the client in the neighborhood because another woman had put in a similar complaint.

    The next day when I reported to work I was told that the client had been found and was put in jail. A few days later I was informed that he was transferred to Nassau County Hospital psychiatric unit and finally to Pilgrim Psychiatric Center for long-term hospitalization.

    My fears escalated when I found that the only safe haven that I had was gone. My husband’s church is approximately half a mile from Pilgrim and patients going into town, escorted or unescorted by staff, go right past the church. The church sign very prominently displays the name of the pastor, Rev. Ryland Gaines.

    I don’t remember how soon but very soon the client was discharged and sent back to the community. He stabbed his girlfriend and was put back in jail. Letters were still coming to the office addressed to me. I reported this to the forensic unit at Pilgrim PC and someone in the jail. I was informed that it was very hard to monitor all of the letters that go out of the institution. For approximately a week the letters stopped coming. Then they would start again.

    Eventually this client was transferred to Mid Hudson Psychiatric Center for the criminally insane. The letters stopped for about six months and then they started arriving at the office again, just like before. I called the Social Worker who informed me that this client was being considered for discharge since his progress was very good. I put the un-opened letters that I received in the mail and sent it to them, so they could evaluate his progress.

    I was told at the beginning by the district attorney that if this client’s status changes that they would notify me by mail.

    I feel that few people really understand the fear and isolation this insidious crime causes. It has been like an invasion in my life for all this time.

    I believe that we need to help educate public employers, to be of assistance to all potential victims of stalking, and to assist those victims who are currently being harassed and stalked. 

    I believe that we need to help educate the general public, on the dangers of stalking, how it can affect an individual, family, friends, neighbors and coworkers, the impact stalking has on the workplace and how employers can help the victim.

    As a stalking victim I didn't have the physical bruises to show.  But day after day I was being mentally raped.

    In essence, to me stalking is more than just harassment - it's an act of terrorism that as a victim I faced every hour of every day. 

    I was anxious all the time. Never knowing when or where he was going to turn up or what he was going to do next. For a while, I could think of little else. My family was worried that I would start to short-circuit mentally and emotionally.

    I was feeling exhausted, and my self-esteem started to disintegrate. I was afraid that I would have a profound depression.

    Finally, I had to accept what life had become. Only then was I able to start to deal with the situation objectively.

    Stalking can happen to anyone.  Until employers, the general public, law enforcement and the judicial systems understand that, lives will be lost. Employers need to take action when their employees are victims of stalking, especially in a situation like mine where the stalker is a client of the agency. Agencies should work with their unions and other employees to develop workplace violence prevention programs including specific threat assessment procedures. Employers should take actions to protect employees from such threats such as working with criminal justice authorities, instituting workplace access controls, and staff education and training.

   We need a standard on violence prevention so that public employers address situations like the one I experienced. Thank you for holding this hearings and considering my testimony.