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Date: 10/12/2022
WARE – To bring awareness to domestic violence, the Ware River Valley Domestic Violence Task Force is set to host their seventh annual walk on Oct. 22.
Beginning at 1 p.m. at Veterans Park, survivors and supporters of domestic and sexual violence will gather to hear a series of speakers, partake in activities, among other offerings.
At 1:30 p.m. participants will go on a quarter- to half-mile walk, which ends at Veterans Park.
Monica Moran, coordinator of the Ware River Valley Domestic Violence Task Force, explained that the entire event is about an hour and a half. “It gets people together,” she said. “It’s community oriented with usually a variety of kids, adults and survivors.”
She went on to say that the speakers at the event are from Ware Junior/Senior High School, as the high school has their own domestic violence task force.
Moran emphasized the importance of young people discussing this topic. For instance, she shared that 26 percent of people experience domestic violence under the age of 18 and 71 percent experience it under age 24.
Additional guest speakers at the event will include Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, state Rep. Todd Smola, state Sen. Anne Gobi and a member from the Ware Select Board.
In past years, Moran said the walk has brought in between 75 to 100 people. The event is open to everyone in the community and surrounding communities. There is no pre-registration required. Moran noted that there is no cost to attend, and this is not a fundraising event – participants do not need to raise money ahead of time. Walkers are encouraged to wear purple, as purple is the color for domestic violence awareness.
If there is rain on the day of the event, the activities will be moved across the street to the Town Hall, but there will not be an official walk.
Over the years, Moran said survivors have told her, “This is so important. [We] didn’t know the community cared about this.”
She added that one year, a woman said that if she had known about this as a kid, perhaps the domestic violence she experienced would have never happened.
“These events have a huge impact on people,” said Moran. “[It allows them to] see that people do care and they are not alone.”
According to a 2015 National Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, “About one in four women and one in 10 men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner.” Moran noted that it’s not connected to any gender, demographic levels, city and so on. “It’s a really significant health issue,” she added.
Moran continued, “Police officers spend a lot of their time responding to domestic violence calls.”
By raising awareness, Moran said she is hopeful that adults will talk to younger people about relationship abuse. To do this effectively, she encourages adults to ask thought provoking questions to “plant a seed” in their young minds. “They don’t always know that there’s a problem and what’s normal compared to what’s not,” noted Moran, as teenage years are the most important time to learn about relationships.
As people age, Moran shared, it is much more difficult to leave a relationship for a “myriad of reasons,” including children and shared housing, to name a few.
She went on to say that domestic violence does not always have to be physical, but can be mental, as someone in the relationship can take control over what you do, what you wear and who you hang out with.
To put an end to this ongoing societal issue, Moran said, “It takes everyone. Come out and help us break the silence.”
While the Ware River Valley Domestic Violence Task Force hosts training and meetings throughout the year, the walk is their main event open to the public.
Moran shared that a new statewide helpline has been created for people who use abuse in their intimate partner relationship and want to work toward becoming safe. The helpline was launched by several partners in Western Massachusetts, including the Ware River Valley Domestic Violence Task Force. “In its first year, it had over 350 calls,” said Moran. To learn more about the helpline, visit https://www.facebook.com/ACallforChangeHelpline or call 877-898-3411.
For people in the Ware area who want domestic violence advocacy services, they can receive local help through BHN Domestic Violence Services in Ware by calling 262-7103. For Spanish speaking advocates, call Alianza Domestic Violence Services at 877-536-1628.
To learn more about the Ware River Valley Domestic Violence Task Force, visit their website at https://www.waredvtaskforce.org/.