Our vision is to offer a network of support, resources and advocacy for the families of homicide or those who have a missing and presumed murdered love one, while empowering families and promoting a health working relationship with law enforcement, media and the judicial system.

The Broken Wings Network is a not-for-profit Oconomowoc-based organization dedicated to providing education and resources to our community, county and state for the prevention of domestic violence and homicide.

The Broken Wings Network’s vision is to advocate for change while helping victims of domestic abuse and partnering with the families of the missing and murdered.

The organization was founded in memory of Becky Marie Kraemer by her mother Karren Kraemer. Becky went missing in December 2003 and is believed to have been killed by her abusive boyfriend. Karren has since led the search for Becky’s whereabouts and remains, working with the media, private investigators, community leaders, state legislators and tirelessly campaigning police officials to bring attention to the plight of not only her daughter’s case, but that of all families trapped in the deadly cycle of domestic abuse.

The Broken Wings Network partners with members of the law enforcement, legal, advocacy and business communities of Wisconsin to provide resources for our communities by offering support for families of missing adults, empowerment for battered women, Prison/Correctional inmate education, reformation of DNA protocol laws nationwide, resources and publications for families and curriculum programs for schools.

As a team, we have cultivated working relationships with the Waukesha Women’s Center, the Waukesha County Technical College’s Department of Criminal Justice, Wisconsin’s Attorney General’s office, State Representative Joel Kleefisch’s office, the Junior Women’s Club of Oconomowoc, the Lake Country Rotary Club and the Okauchee Area Business Association.

At this juncture, we are seeking start-up funding, and specifically the necessary monies to hire a grant writer to enable us to obtain state and federal funds designed especially for initiatives such as ours. Other start-up activities requiring funding include the development of an interactive and educational Web site that would function as a tool for families, law enforcement and health providers. A long term goal is the creation of a satellite women’s shelter for families in the Lake Country area in conjunction with the Waukesha Women’s Center.

Currently, Karren is the only mother in Wisconsin who regularly visits all state prison and correctional facilities. We have developed a presentation geared toward communicating the impact of domestic violence, and her story has been very powerfully received and appreciated by inmates and correctional officers and staff. We have received countless letters from inmates, many of whom attend The Broken Wings Network’s presentation as part of preparation for re-entering society, expressing the value and effect this kind of collaborative and restorative type of advocacy is having on their attitudes and lives.

We have also developed an aggressive media campaign which has resulted in a Dateline NBC feature which ran last year, a Marie Claire magazine feature article which is on newsstands this month, and will be flying to New York this month to be featured in an hour-long program on ABC’s 20/20. Locally, Karren’s story and The Broken Wings message has been covered extensively by the Journal Sentinel, TMJ 4 News, the Waukesha Freeman and the Oconomowoc Focus.

Finally, the Broken Wings Network operates an office that serves as a center for families coping with a missing or murdered family member in the Southeastern Wisconsin region. Keeping the doors open and the phones turned on has been a challenge for our organization since we are still in the infancy stage, but we are committed to reaching our goals and helping to bring our message and resources to Waukesha County and beyond.

We are looking for donations to help us keep our doors open and continue being the voice of my Missing Murdered Daughter Becky Kraemer. You can go to Findbeckykraemer.com to learn more about Becky’s story and see all the media coverage we have received.