Domestic violence awareness walk set for Saturday

People are asked to wear purple Saturday and walk down Fifth Avenue to help raise awareness about domestic violence.

Kara Fox, domestic abuse program advisor at District 4 Human Resources Development Council, said getting the word out about domestic violence is extremely important, in the nation, in the state and locally.

“Last year we got 325 new incidents,” Fox said. “A lot more are not reported that we don’t know about.

“It can happen to anyone, any race, any age, any tax bracket,” she added. “It can happen to anyone we see.”

The walk, held on the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, starts at 9 a.m. on Fifth Avenue and First Street next to Western Drug. The walkers will head south on Fifth Avenue to 13th Street, cross to the other side of Fifth Avenue and return to First Street.

Wanda Meredith, Hill County Family Planning coordinator, said raising awareness is crucial, both to people in abusive situations and for people who think someone else is in one.

“People need not to be ashamed to speak out,” she said, “or to intervene if someone is in a violent situation, although it is scary.”

Fox said the domestic abuse program normally doesn’t enter the picture until police have been called, but sometimes people come in looking for help and advise.

She said her program offers several ways of helping, starting with a crisis hotline at 265-2222. Volunteers staff that line, and if the person calling requests it, can refer them to an advocate.

The program also has The Haven, a confidential location to house people suffering from abuse until they transition to a new location.

The program also can help people navigate the legal system including helping with obtaining restraining orders, and helps with referrals to other programs and agencies both within HRDC and outside the agency.