Pleasant Hill, CA -- The life of Danielle Gomez who died at the hands of an intoxicated driver is the subject of a video produced by students at Deer Valley High School in Antioch, CA. The production educates teens and young adults about the risks and consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
Gomez and her husband, Gilbert were killed on May 6th, 2001 when a drunken driver in East County struck their car. The couple left behind twin daughters and a teenage son. They were returning from a family vacation to Disneyland.
The ironic story of the accident including the family's work on alcohol awareness programs will be previewed on Tuesday, April 29th at 7:00PM and 8:00PM at the Deer Valley High School Theater, 4700 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, CA. Community dignitaries and members of Danielle's family are scheduled to attend.
While the Contra Costa County Health Service's Division of Alcohol and Other Drugs offered seed funding, substantial volunteer support was provided by the Center for Human Development, Pleasant Hill, CA, where Gomez worked as a counselor. Silver Shadow Productions, Antioch, CA and Ken Gaeta supplied professional services for the Deer Valley High School students.
"This project would never have happened with just two people from the Center," said Patty Garcia, program Director for the Center for Human Development, a non-profit alcohol and drug abuse prevention agency. "We've been amazed at the number of talented volunteers who wanted to make this happen," she said.
"I struggled to make sense of her death," said Marsha Jacober, program director at the Center. "If this video can help one person to make a different decision about alcohol, it would make Danielle's death less pointless," she said.
Danielle's entire family worked on alcohol awareness programs. They were so bonded together in their work on the Every Fifteen Minutes program in Antioch," said Garcia. "Danielle worked with teens, she was a teen mom herself," said Garcia. " We knew we had to do something."
The group intends to distribute the video through non-profit channels for a nominal production fee. They hope the video will reach youth advocacy groups, county health and alcohol prevention programs throughout California, and local school districts. Bundled with the DVD will be a facilitator guide to help adults work through the conversations with young people and explore their awareness of alcohol and drug-related issues.
"The goal is to get the video in front of as many teens as possible to facilitate discussion and develop critical thinking around the issue," said Garcia.
"This video can make a difference because it's produced by teens for teens," said Jacober.
"The kids were touched by Danielle's story and they put their energy in to the work," said Jacober. "They expressed it in a way that will touch their piers," she said.
"We've shown the video to several groups and they're drawn in", said Jacober. "people make an emotional connection to this story," she said.
"There are several layers of positive message," said Jacober. "there are q lot of negative stories about irresponsible or disrespectful kids, but this work is a positive story," she said.
The County Health Department's Division of Alcohol and Other Drugs will promote the production through its communications channels and online services.
"It's important to keep Danielle's image in front of people," said Fatima Matal Sol, Program Manager for Prevention Services with the division of Alcohol and Other Drugs. Fatima's daughter worked with Danielle.
"Danielle worked closely with us and I worked with her at a personal level," Matal Sol said. "She cared about the needs of young people," she said. "Everyone knew that about Danielle." "Her death was devastating and we do not want her loss to go unnoticed," she said.
Contact:
Center for Human Development
925.687.8844
Patty Garcia, Ext 246
Kathy Doyle, Ext 224
Fatima Matal Sol
Contra Costa County Health Services Department
Division of Alcohol and Other Drugs
925.313.6311
Ken Gaeta
Silver Shadow Productions
925.757.1323
PO Box 177
Antioch, CA 94509