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Vigil remembers 64 lost to domestic violence in the state
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Published: October 27, 2009
It was a hard first step to take — walking away from a dangerous home with no place to go and nothing but the clothes on her back.
Teresa Brown took that first step on July 18, 2008, and despite the uncertainty she faced, she's glad she did.
"I am free to move, free to go, free to do what God wants me to do," she said Monday.
Brown walked away from an abusive marriage and into the caring arms of the people at My Sister's House, the shelter for battered women in Iredell County.
"I was greeted with kindness and love," she said. "They gave me a place to be safe."
Brown shared her story at a simple ceremony Monday to remember the 64 people who lost their lives because of family violence in North Carolina during the past year.
The ceremony, held in front of the Iredell County Hall of Justice, was to remember those victims, as well as bring awareness to the problem of family violence.
The dozen or so people at the ceremony read off the names of those who died in the past year.
Brown said hers could have easily been on that list.
"One wrong word, one wrong move, and I could be a statistic today," she said.
Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh called family violence an epidemic. Pointing to a few of the children in attendance, he said, young people feel a lifelong impact from domestic violence.
"The hurt they saw never goes away," he said.
Children who witness domestic violence stand a greater chance of growing up to be abusers or being abused and often end up in the criminal justice system, he said.
The mayor commended groups such as My Sister's House and others working to eradicate domestic violence.
Tony Bellamy, who founded an initiative aimed at stopping domestic violence, said he believes the key to addressing the problem is getting men involved.
"Some men see this as a women's issue," he said.
But, he said, that's not the case.
"An injustice against one is an injustice against all," he said.
Bellamy and Gary West, executive director of Fifth Street Ministries, of which My Sister's House is a part, said more and more men are stepping forward to combat the problem.
Both said that's a positive development.
"Men are getting the message now," Bellamy said.
Brown said she's hopeful that domestic violence will become a thing of the past, and she's using her own experiences to help other victims.
"Domestic violence is a disease," she said. "It runs rampant throughout our society. I am so grateful I don't have to live like that anymore. I am grateful I am a survivor."
Nicole Winterhalter, psychologist at My Sister's House, said Brown is much more than a survivor.
"She is an empowered woman," she said.
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