The atmosphere is warm and welcoming – upbeat even – as attendees tour a circle of booths with representatives from domestic violence shelters, survivors’ advocates, and law enforcement. The messages all around are encouraging: “Don’t be silenced,” “Start today and make a new ending,” and “Hold on, pain ends.”
But the mood grows more reflective and reverent as speakers take to the microphone, some whose job it is to fight and prevent domestic violence and others who has felt the aftershocks.
"The devastating increase in domestic and inter-personal violence and homicide in our community has to end," Sheriff Kathy Witt implored. "It has to end."
Her office has recorded a rise in domestic violence cases and protective orders over the past few years. So far in 2023, the number of protective orders filed is nearing 2,000.
One speaker took to the podium in honor of her late sister, saying, "I want to be my sister's voice... She had goals, plans to go back to school, loved her family, loved her children, loved her friends. Her story must be told, must remain in conscious memory, so her children won't cry her tears or follow her tortured legacy."
Aubrey Girouard with The Nest said saying those words aloud can take a lot of courage.
"It absolutely does and it's a huge, huge step, and it's just an amazing way for their voices to be heard," she said. "Of course, you don't have to stand up ion stage to know that you have people there for you."
If there's an overarching message of the yearly event, it's that: If or when people decide they feel safe stepping out of the shadows, a community is waiting to help them.
