Members of the community came together with Hiatus House on Tuesday evening for their 9th annual Shine the Light on Woman Abuse Tree Lighting Ceremony.
November is Woman Abuse Prevention Month in Ontario, and officials say the purple tree lighting ceremony has grown over the past nine years.
Hiatus House provides crisis services, emergency shelter, and support services to women and children whose lives have been affected by domestic violence and human trafficking.
The ceremony was emceed by AM800’s Patty Handysides, and also saw many of community leaders turn out.
The Shine the Light on Woman Abuse campaign calls for community agencies, businesses, and citizens to work toward turning their city purple individually and collectively during the month of November to raise awareness of woman abuse.
Marissa Benson, a staff member at Hiatus House, was also a former resident as a child.
She was one of the speakers and discussed the trauma she endured during her younger years of having to deal with abuse to herself and her mother.
Benson says she's proud to say she's also a Bachelor of Social Work graduate from the University of Windsor and a registered early childhood educator at St. Clair College.
"Despite living my young pre-teen to teenage years in foster care, and living on my own at age 16, I'd say I've done pretty good to myself and I give glory to god for how far I've come. You see the Hiatus House is an emergency shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence and human trafficking, but it so much more than that especially to me," she said.
Hiatus House honours survivors during the month of November and recognized honorees at the Tree Lighting Ceremony to inspire other women who are living with violence to reach out.
She says they listen to the stories of those that have survived circumstances that most could not even imagine having to live in.
"We listen, we advocate, and we certainly do not back down when it comes to our clients. Working at the Hiatus House for me is special because of my story. Today I see just how hard all of our staff work to keep the shelter running and to protect our clients. Having to leave home to come to a strange place with strange people where you eat, sleep, and carry out your daily routine is hard and takes a lot of courage," Benson stated.
Benson says she has a special connection with the women and children she works with given her history with the Hiatus House.
"I find that once I share that I understand even just a little bit of what it's like to live in shelter a connection forms for some women as it feels that for once someone on the other side just gets it. All of us are connected here in one way or another."
Events will continue on November 5 and 6 with Bark in the Park at Lanspeary Park, Wear Purple Day on November 15, and at a special flag raising ceremony on November 25 at City Hall Square to signify the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.