BERGEN COUNTY — The family of a slain Englewood mother and her 5-year-old daughter has started an initiative looking to raise awareness about domestic violence in their memory.
Funeral services were held Tuesday for Tam Marie Pitts Gaddy and her 5-year-old daughter Natasia, who were found murdered inside their Englewood apartment last week. Michael C. Brady, Pitts Gaddy's boyfriend, has been charged with their murder.
"Domestic violence has been rampant in our community for years," the Rev. Dr. Lester W. Taylor, Jr. said at the funeral. "And often, we would rather pray it away than face it."
Instead, Pitts Gaddy's sister, Pastor Angele Frazier Tanner, will head up the "T&T Initiative" — standing for "Tammy and Tay Tay," Tam Marie and Natasia's nicknames — which will "focus and network with Bergen, Passaic and any other county to strategize plans and tactics to keep this from happening again to any other family."
The initiative's goals, according to a flyer distributed at the funeral, are:
1. Network and connect with existing domestic violence programs
2. Create housing or emergency living arrangements for those who are threatened
3. Network and connect with professional counseling services to assist
4. Network and connect with women's groups who can offer skills on dating and relationships
5. Network and connect with men and children's groups to offer assistance in helping those in need of immediate help.
At their funeral on Tuesday, ushers distributed flyers and envelopes seeking donations to the cause in memory of Tam Marie and Natasia. Frazier Tanner, meanwhile, had a message for the victims of domestic violence who may have been among the mourners.
"I am sounding the alarm through the death of these two," she said. "Get out!"
Donations to the initiative can be send to Crowned with Glory International Ministries/T&T Initiative, P.O. Box 5901, Englewood, NJ 07631.
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