The tree lighting event will commemorate 53 lives lost to domestic violence this year in North Carolina.

The memorial will take place:

        Monday, Dec. 3
        5:30 p.m. 
        CMPD Headquarters, 601 East Trade Street, Main Lobby

Free parking for the event is available in the public metered parking area, as well as in the parking deck of the Police Department’s headquarters. The CATS Red Line (a free trolley) runs from Tryon Street to McDowell Street and back every seven minutes.

The tree will be on display from Nov. 24, 2012 through Jan. 5, 2013. We hope that any friends and family who have lost a loved one to domestic violence will make this memorial their own. Bring pictures, poems, news articles, flowers, etc. and place them near the tree for all to appreciate.

The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council is partnering with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Domestic Violence Speakers Bureau and Mecklenburg County’s Community Support Services Women’s Commission in this domestic violence public awareness effort.

Domestic violence related homicides in Mecklenburg County are currently at six for 2012. There were four in all of 2011. There have been 84 domestic violence related homicides in Mecklenburg County since 2002.

• The memorial event will commemorate the 53 lives lost as a result of domestic violence in North Carolina from January to date.
• 53 ribbons will be placed on the memorial tree by those in attendance. The ceremony will close with the lighting of the tree capturing a message that these fallen victims are shedding light on the issue of domestic violence.
• Attendance is free. Community residents are encouraged to attend and to revisit the memorial throughout the holidays.

For more information on the effects of domestic violence in our community, call Mecklenburg County Community Support Services’ Women’s Commission at 704-336-3210 or the United Family Services’ Shelter for Battered Women 24-hour hotline at 704-332-2513.

For more information on the Domestic Violence Advocacy Council, email DVAC.Charlotte@gmail.com.