The community is invited to a ceremony Thursday at 11 a.m. to proclaim October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The event will be held at the Hamilton County/Chattanooga Courts Building located at 600 Market St. in downtown Chattanooga.
During the ceremony, officials from the local government as well as the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults (Partnership) and other Family Justice Center partners, will kick off a month-long Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign. Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke will bring awareness to the problems of Domestic Violence by paying tribute to victims and survivors of domestic violence as well as the law enforcement professionals who help them.
The Courts Building will also feature an exhibit called “The Clothesline Project” which is designed as a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt with testimonies to the problem of domestic violence.
This demonstration will be on display in the Courts Building Atrium starting Thursday through Oct. 31.
“We seem to talk about domestic violence when it involves a high profile person or athlete but it occurs in our community every day,” says Regina McDevitt, senior director at Partnership. “Thursday’s ceremony not only brings attention to the severity of Domestic Violence but also calls for everyone in our communities to stop the violence.”
A total of 4 domestic violence homicides were reported in Chattanooga in 2014, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee is 6th in the nation for having the highest domestic violence homicide rate. Additionally, TBI reported 2,853 domestic violence incidents in 2014 in Hamilton County. Partnership for Families, Children and Adults is partnering with the Family Justice Center to spread the message to the community that domestic violence is serious and can even be fatal if help is not sought.
The campaign asks the community to help stop violence and give hope to victims by sharing the 24-hour hotline 423-755-2700 through social media and traditional word of mouth. In addition, churches, civic organizations, and business leaders are encouraged to host domestic violence speakers at their various functions. The campaign will be promoted throughout October with trainings and Take Back the Night, a Candlelight Vigil and Walk sponsored by UTC that highlights the serious consequences of domestic violence.