Christa Kay tells her story of domestic abuse at the Safe Voices annual domestic violence memorial vigil Monday evening. The event started at Festival Plaza in Auburn and crossed the Longley Bridge into Lewiston. The vigil was part of a statewide effort to kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

LEWISTON — The trees at Festival Plaza in Auburn were wrapped with a purple ribbon Monday night as about 35 people held a vigil to honor victims and survivors of domestic violence.

Elise Johansen, executive director of Safe Voices, said the organization holds the vigil the first Monday in October to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Purple ribbons are a symbol for domestic violence awareness.

Safe Voices, a nonprofit, serves Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties and operates the only shelter for victims in the area. According to its website, it provide one-on-one support, support groups and children’s services for victims of domestic violence.

 “Vigils are a time to help bring the community together to honor those who have lost their lives to domestic violence,” Johansen said.

 During the vigil, speakers addressed the severity and scope of domestic violence, and presented ways to prevent — ultimately work toward ending — domestic violence and abuse.

“Twenty people per minute are abused by an intimate partner in the U.S,” Auburn’s interim Chief of Police Jason  Moen.

“Domestic violence is a precursor to so many other kinds of violence,” he said. “If you see something, say something,” Moen said. “It just might save someone’s life.”

Fatuma Hussein, executive director of the Immigrant Resource Center of Maine, spoke of her organization’s work with Safe Voices. Fifteen years ago, the Resource Center and Safe Voices began working together to help address the problem in diverse communities. Since then, it has worked to provide culturally relevant services for survivors, and empower them to come forward.

“We make sure victims of crime are served regardless of background,” Hussein said.

Christa Kay, a victim of domestic abuse and violence, spoke at the park, detailing her experience with a man she described as the “poster child” for abuse.

“I knew I didn’t like the way I was treated,” she said. “I didn’t understand the hurtful things he’d say,” she said. One day he attacked her physically, which she said she never thought would happen.

“I felt like I couldn’t move,” she said. “I don’t remember any physical pain…it was like my mind couldn’t process that (he) just attacked me,” she said.

After listening to the speakers, the group walked across the James B. Longley Bridge into Lewiston for a gathering at Heritage Park. As they walked down the steps toward the Androscoggin River, each took a candle and formed a circle, honoring the seven people who lost their lives to domestic violence in Maine last year.  

Kay said the event provided an opportunity for her to finally share her story. 

“I hadn’t really shared a lot of my story with anyone,” she said. “It’s been six years. It’s taken me a really long time to heal and a long time to be able to talk about it without emotion.”

 “It was an empowering moment for me,” Kay said.

jbolduc@sunjournal.com