October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Survivor Empowerment Center will host its annual Take Back the Night event this Friday, October 24th from 6pm – 8pm at Turley Park in Carbondale. Organizers say it will be the highlight of activities planned this month for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Every year we honor victims and survivors of domestic violence at Take Back the Night, and we’re especially looking forward to this year’s lineup of activities,” said Angela Odom, the new Survivor Empowerment Center Executive Director. “The rally promises to be both moving and interactive, also a bit different from years past.”
In addition to community and survivor testimonies, live music and sing-alongs, this year’s event will also feature a community art project that event attendees can help create, recognizing their own experiences with domestic violence, that of a friend or loved one, as an ally, or in honor of someone lost to the hands of domestic violence.
Other events features will include The Clothesline Project, a well-known DV Awareness Month installation showcasing hand painted t-shirts made by survivors, and the Silent Witness Exhibit, a nationwide initiative that raises awareness while honoring victims who have lost their lives.
Survivor Empowerment Center staff who are hosting the event are hoping it draws a large crowd to show support for survivors at the local level and connects our own communities to the broader, national anti-violence movement.
“We want this to be an event that brings the community together around this issue,” said Odom, “not only to educate and raise awareness of the seriousness and prevalence of domestic violence, but to give voice to survivors and to stand together in the face of violence. More than 12 million people experience domestic violence every year in the U.S. It tears apart families and negatively impacts communities, our communities.”
Turley Park is located at 1010 South Glenview Drive in Carbondale. For more information about this or other events planned for this month, visit the Survivor Empowerment Center Facebook page. To learn more about the organization or make a donation, visit www.empoweringsurvivors.org .
