Durham leaders host event in remembrance of victims of domestic violence

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month.

The Durham Crisis Response Center (DCRC) hosted the annual “Reading of the names” event on Wednesday.

The DCRC is housed in the Durham Family Justice Center.

Durham leaders, including Mayor Leonardo Williams, Police Chief Patrice Andrews, and District Attorney Satana Deberry participated in the reading of the 75 names of lives lost to domestic violence in North Carolina since last October.

Attendees participated in a silent walk around the building after the reading.

Some of those 75 names were Durham residents, including London Powers and Auriel Lowe.

21 year-old North Carolina Central student London Powers had plans to become a social worker; she was shot and killed in August.

34 year-old Auriel Lowe was a nurse at Duke, remembered by her family as a hard worker and a loving sister. She was killed in September.

"It's every age, every gender, every socioeconomic background, every race,” DCRC Executive Director Shana Carignan said. “It is so prevalent in our communities, it's in our neighborhoods, in our churches, in our schools.

Carignan said women, children, the LGBTQ community, and immigrants are impacted at a disproportionate rate, and it's an issue that's not going away.

“As we're raising the next generation of young people that are entering their first, you know, relationships, it's so important that we as a community come together to talk about these issues, raise awareness,” Carignan said.

Carignan said there are misconceptions around what constitutes domestic violence.

"People think it's all bruises and broken bones, and really, there's so much that happens emotionally, psychologically, mentally, so it's both a physical and an internal struggle of control and power,” Carignan said. “A lot of people think that if they're not being physically abused, or if they're not having to show up at the hospital, that they're not really a victim of domestic violence, but domestic violence includes family violence, sexual assault, violence, financial, mental, emotional abuse, all those things factor in.”

The Durham Crisis Response Center serves survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

You can get involved or donate here. 

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE). For county-by-county help, the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence has a list of resources at nccadv.org.