Vigil honors victims of domestic violence in Union County

Oct. 27—LEWISBURG — Everybody knows somebody who has been a victim of domestic violence, according to Transitions of PA.

Transitions, a Lewisburg-based nonprofit crisis center that provides advocacy, empowerment and education to victims, survivors, families, and communities to end patterns of violence and abuse, hosted a candlelight vigil with 26 supporters on the steps of the Union County Courthouse on Thursday evening. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

"Domestic violence is domestic terrorism in its most literal form," said Union County Commissioner Stacy Richards. "While women of every economic class experience domestic violence, domestic violence is too often a prison for our less economically fortunate sisters and brothers. It is prison because they have nowhere they can afford to live to escape the abuse, they lack affordable child care needed to work to independently support themselves. They lack public transportation to get them to their jobs."

More than 10 million individuals experience domestic violence each year in the United States. One in three women, one in four men and nearly half of LGBTQ+ individuals will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, according to Transitions.

Empty shoes were placed on the steps of the courthouse to represent the victims who lost their lives to domestic violence in Union County over the last 20 years. Their names were also read and candles were lit in their honor.

Thoughts and prayers are not enough, said Richards, a board member of Transitions.

"Not when affordable housing, access to affordable child care and public transportation would benefit our community as a whole," said Richards. "Not those whose personal safety and the safety of their children literally depend on it. It's well past time for the remnants of our forefathers' law to go into the trashcan where they belong."

Tracy Strosser, the outreach coordinator, said it is difficult to imagine the loss of a loved one through domestic violence.

"The loss of a parent, spouse, partner, child, sibling, aunt, uncle or friend is devastating," said Strosser. "The void that remains in their absence is beyond comprehension, particularly when they're taken by violence and abuse."

Heather Schnyder, the health systems training specialist, said Transitions is dedicated to ending all forms of violence and oppression by providing safe survivor center resources, prevention, education and mobilization toward social change in the community.