"Lighting the Way to Peace" is the Theme of Empowerhouse's 35th Annual Domestic Violence Vigil
This year's event took place last weekend in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which occurs annually in October.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Empowerhouse, the Fredericksburg area nonprofit that supports survivors of domestic-violence, held its 35th annual vigil in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month last weekend.
“Having a vigil each year is important to honor the lives of domestic violence survivors,” said Olivia Lewis, a court advocate with Empowerhouse who helped organize this year’s event. “It allows for advocates, survivors, community partners, and the public to come together and hear each other’s stories.”
Every year, the theme of the vigil is different, but it always gives attendees the opportunity “to hear raw, very poised testimonies from survivors of domestic violence,” Empowerhouse director Kathy Anderson told the Advance about last year’s event. “They lay everything wide open in the hopes that people who hear their testimony will never forget it and care to do something about it.”
The theme of this year’s vigil was “Lighting the Way to Peace.” Audience members heard from the Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Mehaffey, and from Kristel DiGravio, a domestic violence investigator with the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office, before the survivor shared her story.
“Survivors, when they give testimonies, are always doing it in the hope that it helps someone else,” Anderson said last year. “I feel like it’s their gift to the people they care about, but they also want people to know there is hope, there is healing.”
Mehaffey told the Advance in a text message that his remarks this year “thanked all the survivors of domestic violence for being a light to the world and shining hope to others like them, who may not have escaped from the darkness and isolation of domestic abuse.
Mehaffey also applauded the important work of Empowerhouse in advocating for survivors, and he spoke about the role of the police and legal system in prosecuting abusers. He gave examples of two cases in Spotsylvania—that of Nicholas Roberto Lara Baker, who in 2014 was sentenced to 18 years for assaulting his wife and child, and that of Christopher Stevens, who was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife by stabbing her over 25 times and, in 2023, received a 76-year sentence—the maximum he could receive for his convictions.
The annual Empowerhouse vigil is held in a different jurisdiction each year. This year’s event took place at the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office substation in Spotsylvania Towne Center.
According to the Virginia Attorney General’s annual report on domestic and sexual violence from 2024, domestic violence may result in or be a factor in many violent crimes. Slightly under half (49.4%) of all 18,116 violent offenses reported by contributing agencies in 2023 occurred in the home or residence, an increase of 2% over 2022.
In addition, the home or residence was by far the most common location of reported forcible sex offenses, according to the report.
The Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance reported 17,422 calls to domestic violence hotlines between July and September of this year, and advocates delivered 9,250 hours of service.
There were 5,395 requests for emergency shelter, which was provided or arranged 2,776 times.
There were about 800 children in shelter and just over 1,000 adults in that time period.
Fourteen percent of survivors reported having had a weapon used against them and 10% were threatened with a firearm. Twenty percent experienced a loss of income or financial security, and 22% had to relocate.
According to the Alliance’s 2024 annual report, hotline calls related to domestic and sexual violence have remained steady in the past five years, but calls for “other needs” including housing, legal issues, and financial assistance, rose 20% since 2021.
“In 2024 alone, over 36,000 callers sought this broader support, reflecting the expanding challenges survivors face and the increasing breadth of needs [advocates] are being asked to support,” the report states.
The challenges are great, but Empowerhouse also wants survivors and the community to know that there are resources for “safety, healing, and hope,” Lewis said, and that’s what the vigil is about.
“We can spread the word about domestic violence and take away the negative stigma and shame survivors often feel,” Lewis said. “It is always a great honor to have survivors speak at our vigils as we are able to honor their journeys and their willingness to share their stories.”
Empowerhouse is the only provider of 24 hour free and confidential domestic violence services to those in Planning District 16—Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, and King George.
Find out how to support the organization here.
If you, or someone you know, needs help, please call Empowerhouse’s confidential 24-hour hotline at (540) 373-9373.
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