Reach shatters silence of domestic violence

  • Jasmine Weaver plants a flag in remembrance of victims who died as a result of domestic violence. In rear wearing orange are Jessica Vernon, Stacy Van Buskirk, Lilli Johnson and Allana Johnson (from left).
    Jasmine Weaver plants a flag in remembrance of victims who died as a result of domestic violence. In rear wearing orange are Jessica Vernon, Stacy Van Buskirk, Lilli Johnson and Allana Johnson (from left).

        Murphy – Cherokee County citizens gathered to remember North Carolina residents who died due to domestic violence in the last year.
        “We need to better educate our children and young adults to understand abuse,” Cherokee County Commissioner Cal Stiles told a crowd Friday evening outside Entegra Bank downtown during the “Shatter the Silence” event. “Until we can replace drugs and alcohol, and put God back in our families, our task in the future is going to be very difficult.”
        Over the last 12 months in North Carolina, 41 people died as a result of a domestic incident, while 14 law enforcement officers were killed responding to the call. The number of fatal domestic violence incidents have decreased over the past two years, Stiles said.
        “But even one death is too many,” he added. “To understand the seriousness of domestic abuse, we have to only focus on some of the local and state statistics.”
        In 2017, Cherokee County law enforcement officials received 725 domestic violence complaints, according to data provided by the sheriff’s office. Calls increased nearly 7 percent in 2018, and police have received at least 603 domestic violence reports so far this calendar year.
        At Friday’s ceremony, a deputy read the names of each domestic violence victim and law enforcement official who died in the last year. Supporters of Reach of Cherokee County planted flags in their memory.
        “When folks become a victim of violence, they’re at the weakest point in their life. They need somebody to stand with them, and Reach has stepped up and done that,” sheriff’s Lt. Joe Wood said.
        Reach, a local nonprofit organization that supports victims of domestic violence, received more than 4,000 calls for assistance over the last year, which includes incidents that may not have been reported to police. Reach served 689 clients and housed 88 residents in its confidential shelter in 2018.
        On average in the United States, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner, which adds up to more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
        Tri-County Early College High School Junior Civitan Club members volunteered to help at “Shatter the Silence” outside the bank. Those students are Jasmine Weaver, Lilli Johnson, Allana Johnson, Dylan Ritz, Moriah Miller, Hailey Curran, Linda Larimore, Adam Fleischer and Anita Warman (Junior Civitan advisor).