People will gather at 4 p.m. Friday near the King Kamehameha statue on Hilo Bayfront for the start of the 28th annual Family Peace Walk and Vigil.
People will gather at 4 p.m. Friday near the King Kamehameha statue on Hilo Bayfront for the start of the 28th annual Family Peace Walk and Vigil.
Participants will proceed up Pauahi Street, around the Hale Kaulike court complex and meet at the Aupuni Center back along Pauahi Street, where sign-waving for family peace will take place at 4:25 p.m.
For those who prefer not to walk, other participants will be sign-waving along Kilauea Avenue.
The vigil starts at 5 p.m. at the Aupuni Center with the lighting of the candle ceremony and purple ribbon presentations to those who dedicated their time and support to victims of domestic violence. The public is encouraged to attend.
Each year, purple ribbon awards are given to honor people or groups who have made a significant contribution to dealing with this serious community problem.
Waiakea High School is this year’s purple ribbon recipient in recognition of everything the school does to provide awareness, education and prevention in regard to domestic and teen dating violence.
Waiakea High has become the pilot school for the Safe Dates program that provides a curriculum about healthy and unhealthy relationships. This program is presented to all ninth-grade students. The school also brings in different speakers to talk to the students throughout the school year, including TAP 808 and Bay Clinic.
The seniors at Waiakea have been particularly involved, many of them performing student internships at community agencies and participating in various events relating to family violence.
In 1989, the U.S. Congress designated October as 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 last a lifetime. The Hawaii County 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 Family Peace Walk and Vigil or about domestic violence services, contact Martha Aukai or Allen Bartolome of the Hawaii County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney at 961-0466.