Gabby Petito, 22, was killed in 2021 while on a cross-country ski trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie
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Gabby Petito
Gabby Petito’s stepfather is working to provide domestic violence training programs to firefighters and EMS personnel to help first responders recognize the crime.
Jim Schmidt, 42, a fire and rescue administrator in Hillsborough County, Florida, who focuses on domestic violence awareness training for first responders at the Gabby Petito Foundation, said it is “overwhelming” how many people are affected by the crime.
“It really made us realize that they need a lot of help, and if we can help just one or two along the way, it goes a long way,” he told PEOPLE last month. It really matters a lot to us, and we’re just driven by what we do, so we can’t always reach everyone, but we do. The best thing is to raise awareness and refer people to services that can really help them.”
Jim, along with Gabby’s mother Nichole Schmidt and Gabby’s father Joe Petito and Joe’s wife Tara, founded the Gabby Petito Foundation shortly after the death of the 22-year-old aspiring YouTube blogger, who disappeared during a cross-country ski trip with her fiancé Brian. Laundry in the summer of 2021.
Her body was later discovered near a campground in Wyoming. Laundrie, who died by suicide, was found on Oct. 20 at a nature preserve near his family’s home in North Port, Florida, along with a backpack containing what the FBI described as a notebook “claiming responsibility” for Gabby’s death by strangulation.
Related: Gabby Petito’s Parents Want Teens to Look Out for These Dating Red Flags to Prevent Domestic Violence (Exclusive)
Diana King
Nichole and Jim Schmidt, Joseph and Tara Petito
The foundation focuses on raising awareness about domestic violence and creating stronger laws and policies that govern how police respond to reports of intimate partner abuse and missing persons.
Jim, who worked as a firefighter on Long Island for 25 years, says he sees the need for mandatory domestic violence training for firefighters and paramedics across the country.
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Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie
Related: Gabby Petito’s Parents Want to Change the Way Domestic Violence is Handled in the US: ‘Laws Are Changing’ (Exclusive)
“Sometimes you’re really busy, and sometimes you get a little numb and jaded at times,” he says. “And you encounter an incident of domestic violence. And if that victim is being a bit difficult or seems difficult at the time, or isn’t really answering your questions, it’s often easy to get frustrated. But it is important that they understand why they are this way, why they are afraid to speak out. Maybe they contacted you before and didn’t get any help, and now you walk in here and ask questions in a way that may seem judgmental, but they’re not going to open up to you. So recognizing that you have to change and reverse a little bit from your normal walk-in, and be more trauma-informed and understanding. By giving them training, they will realize, ‘This is why they are behaving the way they are. This is how you can get in touch with them.'”
He adds: “Maybe they go, they may be transported when they need it, maybe they don’t, but maybe for the first time they really feel like there is someone listening to them and helping them. And if you know where to go, send them for help and get them connected to their local domestic violence organizations. Maybe that’s the catalyst they need to start their path to safety.
The Petito and Schmidt families
Gabby Petito
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The foundation also supports the National Domestic Violence Hotline – to which they donated $100,000 in 2022 to help build the group’s capacity.
“People are paying more attention to these issues, especially domestic violence,” said Nichole, who spoke on a panel at CrimeCon 2024 Nashville last month along with Joe, Jim and Tara. “We get emails all the time from people saying, ‘Gabby saved my life. She gave me the strength to get out of my abusive relationship.” Survivors come out and tell their stories. The laws are changing and we keep fighting.”
“We have to prevent this from happening to other people,” she says. “It keeps us strong. Gabby works through us. We must move forward and change the world together.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or visit thehotline.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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