On September 26th, staff and volunteers from LifeWay Network participated in the Queens contingent of the 15th Annual Gladys Ricart & Victims of Domestic Violence Memorial Walk.
Known as the Brides March, this event is held to raise awareness of domestic violence and honor Gladys Ricart, a woman who was preparing to wed her fiancé in 1999 when she was murdered by her abusive former boyfriend.
Many participants dressed in wedding gowns or white as they marched through parts of Queens, down Woodhaven Boulevard and ending at Queens Center Mall.
Speakers included Queens Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark- Viverito.
“We have to be able to not be afraid to talk about the fact that any sort of violence in any relationship – whatever type of relationship – is unacceptable,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Jasmine Ortiz, Bookkeeper/Administrative Coordinator of LifeWay Network, spoke of her personal experience of domestic violence, saying “Twenty-one years ago there was no awareness or help for women who were being abused. Domestic violence robs you of the person you were created to be…I won’t say it wasn’t hard getting out of this abusive relationship, being only twenty-two and having two children to raise all by myself with no help from anyone, but I did it…. I was not going to let my three-month old daughter seeing me getting abused and think that it was okay for a man to abuse me, or her.”
Sister Joan S. Dawber, Executive Director of LifeWay Network, closed the program with a prayer of sending forth, in which she asked God to “lead us today to bring awareness of this problem of violence and abuse to our neighborhoods… Let us leave this gathering more concerned about the issues of violence and abuse that surround us. Watch over with care those who are violated, and those who strive to do work in your name bringing healing and hope.”
LifeWay Network was honored to participate in this important event, and it is our belief that raising awareness of these often hidden crimes is the first step in stopping them. The violence of domestic violence mirrors the violence and abuses we see in our efforts to bring an end to human trafficking.
Visit the NY1 website to see coverage of this event, including remarks by Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and Jasmine Ortiz of LifeWay Network.
