Ceremony Gives a Voice to Victims of Domestic Violence

Victims of domestic violence cut across every race and all social strata, men and women, both young and old.

This past year in Michigan saw the tragic deaths of Maxwell Herrera, age 17 months, of Kalamazoo, Jonathon Hoffman, 17, of West Bloomfield, and Lucinda Bailey, 54, of Detroit.

These names and others were commemorated as "silent witnesses" to domestic violence at Beaumont Hospital, Troy on Wednesday as part of the hospital's annual awareness event for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.

"You hear about it in the news every day and it seems like our victims are getting tinier," said Debra Guido-Allen, chief nursing officer at the Troy hospital. "We need to reach out to let people know what avenues they can take, whether it's a man, woman, or child."

Wendy Schroll, a survivor of domestic violence along with her four daughters, delivered a speech on the benefits of having a "safe space" to express her struggles with a spouse. That's exactly what the hospital hopes to provide, Guido-Allen explained.

"If the person who is doing the abuse is actually the provider, if they don't have anyone to do it to, then you stop the cycle. We want to get the victims out of the way," she said.

Troy Mayor Dane Slater, Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett, and Sterling Heights Mayor Richard Notte read from a list of 22 victims of domestic violence death in the state this year, including "the unknown victim whose story remains unsolved and untold."

Those 22 "Silent Witnesses" will be remembered with displayed throughout Beaumont Health System and in surrounding communities during the month of October with statistics about the incidence of domestic violence in Michigan.

According to statistics from HAVEN, one out of three women are affected by domestic violence and 98 percent of batterers in the United States are male.

In addition to the ceremony, donations of items, such as retail gift cards, food, toiletries, cellular telephones and household supplies, will be collected throughout the month of October at Beaumont Hospital, Troy and Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe.  All items collected will be distributed to two local domestic violence shelters: HAVEN in Oakland County and Turning Point in Macomb County.