McGarey deserves a lot of credit. She has overcome a great deal to get where she is.

She spent years in what finally became a terrifyingly abusive relationship. One night, after arguing with her partner because he wanted to drive while drunk, he smashed her head into the dashboard. After that, she told him to let her out, she would walk. He let her out, but when she reached back inside the truck to get her pocketbook, he slammed the door - with part of her finger inside. He drove off despite frantic pleas to stop. That night, she lost part of her left ring finger, but she finally gained her freedom. She's been out of this relationship for less than a year, but she's dived into life with gusto.

She's carrying a cell phone on her skating tour across Florida to raise awareness of a program named "Call to Protect." This program provides cell phones for women in fear for their safety. The cell phones are programmed to call 911 or a domestic violence shelter and cannot be used for other calls.

The cell phones make it possible for women to have a mobility they might not have if they thought they were going to be away from a telephone. The fear of being assaulted by a man in the parking lot at the grocery store, while coming out from work, while picking up the kids, often either keeps a woman at home (where the batterer knows right where to find her) or in terror that she will be assaulted while she doesn't have access to a phone.

The phones can also relieve pressure on the already scarce resources of domestic violence shelters. Women who do not have phones in their homes might find it necessary to go to a shelter if it were not for the cell phones where they can call for assistance.

Maureen O'Neil of Refuge House in Tallahassee told me that in one instance, a man approached a woman who had a protection order against him, and just seeing the cell phone was enough to make him run.

Debra McGary didn't need to take advantage of the Call to Protect program because she had family in the Tallahassee Area, but she definitely sees the need for it, and for women who are more isolated (as the victims of battering frequently are) the program can be a Godsend.

Some programs have a list of qualifications the women have to meet in order to get a cell phone. For example, they have to have filed for a protection order, not be living with the perpetrator, or have been threatened. Other programs only require that the woman feel in danger. There are Call to Protect programs in D.C., Virginia, Washington State, Florida, and Alabama.