By Jeanna Preisler
For the Salisbury Post
Joyce Shelton, a China Grove resident, lost her daughter, Priscilla Huffman, three years ago due to domestic violence.
Priscilla was 29 years old when her husband murdered her with a butcher knife on Oct. 23, 2006.
Shelton was surrounded Oct. 16 by people who identified with her loss. She was one of 84 people who participated in the 2009 Peace Walk, a community-wide event co-sponsored by the Rowan County Domestic Violence Task Force and Family Crisis Council.
The purpose of the event was to raise awareness and to honor those who lost their lives due to domestic and family violence.
“I can’t tell you how much this peace walk means to me. It helps to know that you remember my daughter each year,” Shelton said.
Lt. Karen Barbee of the Salisbury Police Department, who is also chairperson of the Domestic Violence Task Force, read aloud the 62 North Carolina victims who have died since the beginning of this year, while supporters gathered around the steps of the Rowan County Courthouse.
After the last name was read, Lucky Loft White Dove Release released white doves in honor of those victims.
“We release the doves in memory of those who have died. I hope today is the first of many that you will talk about domestic violence with your family, friends, co-workers and in your faith community,” said Jeanne Preisler, executive director of the Family Crisis Council of Rowan County.
“Silence only hides violence and enough people have been silenced,” she said.
The Family Crisis Council, a Rowan County United Way member agency, serves 200 victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in Rowan County each year.
The walkers proceeded along a designated route through downtown Salisbury, many carrying purple balloons with placards attached, each bearing the name of a victim.
Others carried signs depicting their passion and support of a community that has zero tolerance for violence and abuse.
Several residents of the battered women’s shelter designed and painted a banner.
“With the support of the of Family Crisis Council and events like this one, I can begin to heal,” said one of the participants.
The Family Crisis Council is committed to bringing together people from all across Rowan County to help end domestic violence in this community. The Family Crisis Council will have its next volunteer orientation Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Catawba College’s Environmental Center.For more information, visit www.familycrisiscouncil.org, or call the 24-hour crisis line at 704-636-4718.