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WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

Candlelight Sparks Domestic Violence Vigil In DeKalb

Jessie Schlacks / WNIJ

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Survivors gathered for an annual vigil this week at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in DeKalb.

The event was hosted by Safe Passage, a group that provides services like crisis intervention and housing options to victims.

Margaret Thacker is a domestic violence survivor. She says she’s come a long way since being picked up by a police officer years ago in Ohio.

Thacker shared her story because she wanted to send a message of encouragement.

“It didn’t have to be all the gloom and doom of what you go through. And that is very much part of your journey, and you have to go through that part to get to the light at the end of the tunnel," Thacker said.

Safe Passage had several organizers explain their mission and available resources.

Mary Ellen Schaid is the organization's executive director.  She says domestic violence affects many families, so the community needs to work together to address the issue.

"And if you ask anybody that, they’ll say, 'Yeah, nobody deserves to be abused.' But so many people are," Schaid said. "So we all have to come together, just like with so many things, and really say, 'It’s not okay, and we’re going to do everything we can to make it stop.'"

Schaid says the vigil is an inspirational event.

"People get a chance to hear people who have really have gone through a lot and they come out the other side. And they become productive members of the community, and that’s what we’re trying to do," Schaid said.

Joseph Gastiger is a pastor at the First Congregational United Church of Christ. He says the community gathering can give victims encouragement. 

"It lets people that are in that situation now see how others have become empowered to try to get out of terrible, destructive situations, and try to live a fuller life – and really to save your kids as well," Gastiger said.

Credit Jessie Schlacks / WNIJ
Survivors display pictures of things that motivate or have significant meaning to them at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in DeKalb.

Gastiger says community members can be proactive in helping victims.

“If it’s obvious, or if it looks like somebody’s been hurt or somebody’s been beaten, taking the person aside and saying, 'You really should think about calling this agency or you might want to see a counselor there.' Or trying to offer the kind of help they can," Gastiger said.

Thacker adds that vigils like this one can be an eye-opening experience.

“And it’s to spread the awareness of the crisis that there is for domestic violence," Thacker said. "There’s so many that we know about, and there’s so many more that we don’t."

The vigil is one of several events planned in October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Next week, Northern Illinois University students will march across campus for the annual "Take Back the Night" rally. Its purpose is to end sexual assault, domestic violence, and dating violence.

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