City first in state with 'Purple Lights'

Date: 10/5/2010

Oct. 6, 2010

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE -- Could you replace your porch light with a purple light bulb for the month of October?

It's not a Halloween decoration, but a way to show your support for the effort to end domestic violence.

The city of Chicopee will be the first community in the Commonwealth to participate in the Purple Light Project, an effort that began in 2005 by the Covington Domestic Violence Task Force in King County, Wash.

Mayor Michael Bissonnette and officials from Womanshelter/Companeros met on Friday not only to announce the project, but for Bissonnette to sign a proclamation declaring that Chicopee recognizes the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Bissonnette also signed the contract that awards $12,000 in federal funds to the shelter.

"[Domestic violence] is a serious problem and in this economy, a growing one," Bissonnette said. He added that four million Americans face issues of domestic violence.

According to the 2009 National Census of Domestic Violence Services, more than 2,000 victims were served in just one day by 49 of the 56 domestic violence programs in the state. There were increases over the previous year in all the services being offered by those programs.

The Chicopee Police Department, the Valley Opportunity Council and the Chicopee Electric Light Department fund the Purple Light Project locally.

The purple bulbs cost $3.50 and are available at the Chicopee Electric Light Department. They are not a fundraiser for the non-profit group based in Holyoke, but are sold at cost. The bulbs are on sale to anyone who wishes to participate, not just Chicopee residents.

Karen Cavanaugh, the executive director of Womanshelter/Companeros, said, "Domestic violence is preventable. Womanshelter is there for the community to listen, to refer, to help."

Founded in 1980 as a grassroots collective, the organization has sheltered more than 2,000 women and children and assisted 30,000 others through community-based support programs.

The Womshelter/Companeros hotline for help is 536-1628 or toll-free at 877-536-1628.