Events slated for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

To honor this national observance, A Woman’s Place (AWP), Bucks County’s only domestic violence agency for more than 42 years, is planning a series of public events to bring the community together against domestic violence.

In light of a string of recent domestic violence-related homicides in our community, the agency is making a county-wide push to re-emphasize the critical importance of domestic violence awareness in Bucks County.

Starting on Saturday, Sept. 29, AWP will host the annual Paint the Towns Purple event from 10 a.m. to noon simultaneously in Bristol, Doylestown and Quakertown. At Paint the Towns Purple, hundreds of volunteers will help AWP hang purple ribbons throughout the three towns and place awareness-raising lawn and window signs with participating community members and businesses.

AWP will also be conducting a nonpartisan voter registration drive during the event. Community members interested in getting registered to vote can come to any of the three locations, all of which are listed on the agency’s Facebook page (facebook.com/awomansplace).

This year’s Annual Domestic Violence Awareness Candlelight Vigil will be hosted by the Doylestown Mennonite Church 6 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 9. The free event is open to all community members and is a somber, reflective evening in which attendees hear survivors’ stories first hand and hold a vigil for all those who’ve lost their lives to domestic violence in our community.

AWP will also hold its 14th annual Breakfast and Community Recognition Ceremony 8 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Cock ‘n Bull Restaurant. The event will be a chance for community members to learn about the agency’s work and for the agency to recognize Bucks County individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the domestic violence movement in the past year.

Tickets are $20 and are available at awomansplace.org/breakfast.