The ARK Domestic Violence Shelter (The ARK) invites the public to take part in this year’s National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Each year October is set aside to honor the victims that have lost their lives to domestic violence, celebrate the progress survivors and advocates have made, and connect with the community to help end domestic violence.
Throughout October, The ARK will display the Empty Shoes exhibit at local schools, courthouses, medical facilities and public places in the tri-county area. The display honors local victims in Brown, Coleman and Comanche Counties that have lost their lives to domestic violence. The display is a sobering reminder that domestic violence continues to happen here in the local area. It is a tragedy that each name and pair of shoes represents a mother, sister, friend, and child that were taken by violence at the hands of someone they cared about.
From October 3rd through October 7th, the display can be found at Brownwood, Coleman, Early, and Bangs high schools. The following week the display will be at Brownwood Regional Medical Center, Coleman County Medical Center, Comanche County Medical Center, Brownwood Public Library, and Santa Anna High School. From October 17th through October 21st, the display will be at the HPU-Girling Center, TSTC, Ranger College, and DeLeon and Panther Creek high schools. During the last week of October, the display will be at the Brown, Coleman, and Comanche County Courthouses, and May High School.
On the 20th of October, The ARK will have their annual Candlelight Vigil in the HPU Girling Center at 6:00 p.m. The Candlelight Vigil will feature a reading of all the names of Texas victims’ that lost their lives in 2015 as well as remembering the twelve victims from the tri-county area of Brown, Coleman, and Comanche. Darla Biggerstaff, a survivor of domestic violence, will be one of the guest speakers. Other speakers will talk about domestic violence in our community and how The ARK and law enforcement is responding to it. The Candlelight Vigil will end with the lighting of candles and a moment of silence to remember the victims.
Each year, over 100 victims in Texas alone are murdered by an intimate partner. October is the month to observe these issues and pledge to end domestic violence in our communities. This month is set aside to remind each of us what we can personally do to help stop the violence.
The ARK, along with local police, court officials, and community agencies, work together to make our communities safer and to end the violence that is happening in too many homes. They are reaching out to the community and asking for help to end this epidemic of violence. For more information about the services that The ARK provides or about National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, please contact The ARK at 325-643-2699 or visit www.arkshelter.org.
Pictured above is The ARK’s “Empty Shoes” campaign which highlights local domestic violence tragedies. Currently, the display is set up at Brownwood High School.