The ARK Domestic Violence Shelter (The ARK) is inviting the public to their annual candlelight vigil, on October 20th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The candlelight vigil will be held inside the Betty and Robert Girling Center for Social Justice at HPU and will honor the victims in Brown, Coleman and Comanche Counties that have lost their lives to domestic violence. It will also celebrate the progress survivors and advocates have made, and will help connect with the community to help end domestic violence.
The ARK will have a reading of the names for all the Texas victims that lost their lives in 2015, as well as remembering the twelve local victims from the tri-county area. Guest speakers will talk about domestic violence in our community and how The ARK Domestic Violence Shelter is responding to it. They will also present the Annual Coy Pullara Award to an individual that has shown dedication and commitment to ending domestic violence in our communities. The candlelight vigil will end with the lighting of candles and a moment of silence to remember the victims.Throughout October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, The ARK will be setting up displays for the Empty Shoes Exhibit at local schools, courthouses, medical facilities and public areas in the three counties. The display honors the local victims that have lost their lives to domestic violence. The display is a sobering reminder that domestic violence is happening here in our 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.
Each year over 100 victims in Texas alone are murdered by an intimate partner. October is the month to observe this serious issue and pledge to end domestic violence in our communities. This month is set aside to remind residents what they 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 the candlelight vigil, please contact the ARK at 325-643-2699. You can also go online to www.arkshelter.org.
