Expert says awareness key to self-defense

Josey1

Expert says awareness key to self-defensePanhandle Pieces Liz Kishimoto - The Spokesman-ReviewSue Frederiksen is the Idaho coordinator for Mothers Arms. The organization is affiliated with the National Rifle Association and teaches self-defense and firearms safety to women. Susan Saxton D'Aoust - Correspondent CLARK FORK _ Awareness is critical.Sue Frederiksen speaks with such authority no one doubts her message: "The key," she stresses, "is awareness."Frederiksen teaches classes in personal safety for women. She is Idaho state coordinator for Mothers Arms, a national nonprofit organization established to provide women with the necessary resources, skills and knowledge to protect themselves. Mothers Arms is affiliated with the National Rifle Association."If you are walking around thinking about what you are going to cook for dinner -- or about a hot date -- and are not aware of your surroundings, you make an easy target for a criminal," she says. "Criminals look for easy targets."A word as strong as "criminal" may not resonate in most Panhandle communities, where neighbors know each other and care about each other's safety. But it is precisely for this reason that Frederiksen stresses the importance of safety classes for teenage women heading off to college or work in other areas."When you grow up in a small community you live in a cocoon," she says.Frederiksen has lived in both urban and rural areas.She was born in Pennsylvania, but her family later moved to Miami, where she graduated from high school. When her first husband was killed in a hit and run accident, she moved to Colorado with her son and mother. They bought a ranch and raised quarter horses.In Colorado, she joined the mounted sheriff's posse and became a certified reserve officer."I learned law enforcement, driving, firearms, arrest control," she says.Later, Frederiksen moved to an isolated mountain town, where she was a victim's advocate for seven years.She and her husband, Steen, lived in Denver, but were married at Lake Pend Oreille's Bottle Bay by Pastor Robert Nale. He's a Lutheran minister in Clark Fork whom Sue had known as a child in Pennsylvania."We fell in love with it here," says Frederiksen.Last August, they pulled up stakes and moved to Clark Fork. The NRA badges on their jackets have drawn a lot of attention, prompting them to start offering a series of NRA certified courses."People run after us in Wal-Mart to ask about classes," Frederiksen says with a grin.They are both certified NRA Firearm Safety instructors and also are qualified to teach others to become instructors. The couple will offer a "Refuse to be a victim" seminar next month in Clark Fork.The program was established by the NRA in 1993 in response to women requesting crime prevention strategies and was initially only offered to women by female instructors. It became coed in 1997.April's seminar is for women, couples and/or teenagers and "is not about guns," Frederiksen says. "That is not a choice for every woman or every person, male or female. It is not that we advocate that everyone get a firearm for protection.""Refuse to be a victim" covers many options and includes home safety, locks, body language and, of course, awareness. It will be held on April 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Clark Fork at 313 E. Second Ave. Reservations are required. Cost is $10."A young woman out on her own for the first time needs to know that the rest of the world is not like Bonner County, Idaho," Frederiksen says. "The other day Panhandle State Bank was held up at gunpoint. The last time that happened here was in 1982. In a metropolitan area, it is a daily occurrence."For information on all classes, call 208-266-0308.Information on Mothers Arms is available at www.mothersarms.org. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=031602&ID=s1116860&cat=section.idaho