2014 Purple Ribbon awardees announced for 26th annual Domestic Violence Vigil

The 26th annual Domestic Violence Family Peace Walk and Vigil is slated to begin at 4 p.m. Friday in Hilo. Participants will assemble near the King Kamehameha statue followed by sign-waving along Pauahi Street. At 4:20 p.m., the Family Peace Walk will start and go up Pauahi Street, around the Hale Kaulike Court House and end at the Aupuni Center. For those who prefer not to walk, other participants will be sign-waving along Kilauea Avenue and Pauahi Street during this time.

The vigil starts at 5 p.m. at the Aupuni Center with the lighting of the candle ceremony and Purple Ribbon honors to those who dedicated their time and support to victims of domestic violence.

The public is encouraged to attend.

The 2014 Purple Ribbon Awardees include Safeway Hilo and its employees who have supported services to victims of domestic violence for many years, and Hawaii County Councilmember Dennis “Fresh” Onishi for his commitment to addressing the issue of domestic violence in our county. He has supported the annual Ohana Fun Day since it began six years ago. Most recently, he introduced Resolution 497 14, requesting the Hawaii State Association of Counties to include in its 2015 legislative package a bill to increase the period of separation for incidents of family violence.

The annual walk and vigil unite the community to recognize those who lost their lives because of domestic violence and raise community awareness and advocacy during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Domestic violence includes physical, emotional, mental, financial and sexual abuse by an intimate partner against another. It results in physical injury, psychological trauma and sometimes death. The consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and truly last a lifetime.

The theme, “lost.live.love,” remembers those who lost their lives to domestic violence, those who survived and live on after the abuse and to encourage love and the end of domestic violence.

For more information about the Domestic Violence Family Peace Walk and Vigil or about domestic violence services, contact Roxanne Aburamen of the County of Hawaii Office of the Prosecuting Attorney at 934-3345.