MOSES LAKE - October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and

New Hope Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services wants

everyone to do something about it.

New Hope holds their annual "Take Back the Night" event

Thursday, Oct. 20, from 4 to 6 p.m., featuring music, guest

speakers, and refreshments, all to raise awareness of domestic

violence.

MOSES LAKE - October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and New Hope Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services wants everyone to do something about it.

New Hope holds their annual "Take Back the Night" event Thursday, Oct. 20, from 4 to 6 p.m., featuring music, guest speakers, and refreshments, all to raise awareness of domestic violence.

People meet at Sinkiuse Square at 4 p.m. and march to Frontier Middle School.

Guest speakers include Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter, Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones and survivors of domestic violence, said New Hope Program Director Suzi Fode.

New Hope has held the "Take Back the Night" event for 10 years, she said. This will be the group's third year participating in "An Empty Place at the Table," a national effort to raise awareness of people who died from domestic violence.

People can bring a place setting, including place mat, plate, glass and utensils, to New Hope, 840 E. Plum St. in Moses Lake, until Oct. 19 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to remember someone killed as a result of domestic violence. Place settings can also be brought to the Frontier Middle School gym the day of the event at 4 p.m.

People often personalize the place setting to reflect the person being remembered, said Fode.

"It's just another reminder of someone not sitting at your dinner table or not being there for Thanksgiving dinner," she said. "The people who set the place setting are typically a family member, so they try to personalize it with their favorite china, or maybe they always liked fresh flowers, or they always set it really fancy ... I believe it's a very powerful picture of people who are no longer with us."

A candlelight vigil, in which the names of everyone in Washington who has died from domestic violence will be read, concludes the event.

"I believe that more community members are showing up, but still, when we're a community of over 25,000 and we only have 100 people show up to honor this, it's just a small portion ... It's not everybody's favorite topic to come stand around and talk about domestic violence, but it's a community problem, and we all need to be made aware that there's something we can all do to stop this, to hold perpetrators accountable and keep our victims safe."

People are encouraged to wear purple in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, said Fode. New Hope will be selling purple porch lights at the event for $3.

For information on "Take Back the Night," call New Hope at 509-764-8402.

New Hope has a hotline for people experiencing domestic violence at 1-888-560-6027.