LETTER

Dear Editor:

Franklin County is again in the news for another domestic violence related homicide and indicated in the suicide of the young lady incarcerated in our jail. This news story should be very disturbing to anyone living in our county. We have had too many homicides and headlines related to domestic violence in Franklin County over the past few years.

Joseph Mendez apparently stabbed his sister to death and attacked his mother.  Ann Six hung herself after being arrested for beating her grandmother.  Recently a town employee was suspended from his job due to criminal charges for domestic assault. Is this going to be news that will be forgotten in a few weeks or be the catalyst for change in our county? Violence, whether it is perpetrated by a man or a woman, has an impact on all of us, not only the victim and their families.  Could these tragedies have been averted?  Did someone know that the family was having difficulty?  If you knew someone was being abused, would you offer support and encouragement to the victim?

Whenever there is a domestic violence-related homicide, our requests for assistance increase; however the public needs to know that we receive calls every single day from victims of violence. Safe Space Inc. is the only agency in Franklin County that provides the complete range of services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.  We are only part of the solution to this problem. Safe Space Inc. collaborates with all the community agencies to provide the services and programs victims need to extricate themselves from violence within the home.

We are here for you, your family, friends and neighbors.  To seek assistance or information, our 24-hour crisis line is available: 919-497-5444.  It is up to all of us to decrease the number of domestic violence cases in Franklin County.

Linda L. Rudolph
Executive Director
Safe Space Inc