Sandy Oliva, leading Long Island advocate for domestic violence victims, dies at 82

To those who knew her, Sandy Oliva, of Northport, was a force for good in the lives of the many Long Islanders she helped out of dangerous living situations.

Oliva, a longtime champion of preventing domestic violence, began or helped form the agencies providing assistance to those at risk — oftentimes women and children.

Lending a hand to others in need is a quality Oliva always had, according to her daughter, Jennifer Oliva, of Port Washington.

"She always wanted to help people," Oliva said of her mother. "As a child, I remember sitting on her bed in the middle of the night as she was getting calls about clients who needed to be rescued."

Sandy Oliva, who was born on Sept. 16, 1942, in Brooklyn, died Dec. 16 after battling ovarian cancer, her family said. She was 82.

Oliva started the Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 1977. She eventually became executive director, during which time she earned a master's degree in social work from Adelphi University.

"Her work meant everything to her. It was part of her identity and something she fought for that she believed in," Jennifer Oliva said. "She really grew the agency to be all-encompassing. They had a 24-hour hotline, a safe house for victims, counseling services."

Before that, Sandy Oliva earned a bachelor's degree from Queens College. She taught secondary English in Queens, where she met her first husband, Frank, also a teacher. The couple married in the late 1960s and moved to Locust Valley where they raised their daughter and son, David. The couple later divorced. In the late 1990s, Oliva married Bruno LaSpina, and they moved to Northport.

Oliva left the coalition in the late '90s and spent 15 years as the vice president of community impact and agency relations at United Way of Long Island. She then went back to the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and assisted in its merger with the Coalition Against Child Abuse & Neglect, forming The Safe Center LI in 2014, a Bethpage-based victim-service agency.

"It was her life's work … she felt she had a calling to help people," said Irene Hajasava, of Mineola, who attended graduate school with Oliva and worked at the Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

"She was smart, funny, energetic, just a beautiful person," Hajasava said. "I think she would want to be remembered for her commitment to helping women and children."

Cindy Scott, who formerly served as co-executive director at The Safe Center LI, worked on projects with Oliva and described her as "a great support, and I wouldn't have wanted anybody else by my side."

"She was so open to learning the dynamics of child abuse and child sexual abuse," said Scott, who now lives in Vero Beach, Florida. "Her work was truly mission-driven."

As a mother, Oliva was an incredible role model when it came to a career, according to her daughter, the owner of a public relations firm.

"Her approval meant everything. She made me strong, smart, resourceful, and a lot of my success and strength was rooted in her," Jennifer Oliva said. "She was an amazing grandmother and had a real bond with her grandchildren. She was somebody who they could look up to but she was a big cheerleader for them as well."

Sandy Oliva enjoyed reading and volunteering, and was also a dedicated dog lover. She started Last Chance Rescue & Care, a nonprofit to help shelters across Long Island. For the past few years, Oliva had volunteered at the thrift shop for the Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk.

The Sandy Oliva Memorial Scholarship Fund has been started in her honor and is run through the United Way of Long Island. Donations can be made to the fund, with a scholarship to be awarded annually to a victim of domestic violence.

In addition to her daughter, son and husband, Oliva is survived by a daughter-in-law, Michele; and grandchildren Dylan, Jack and Max. Oliva was cremated. A celebration of life is planned for Sunday at The Safe Center LI in Bethpage.