Vigil remembers those lost, survivors of domestic violence in Macon, Middle GA

The Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia and Crisis Line & Safe House of Central Georgia hosted a candlelight vigil Tuesday in Rosa Parks Square for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Mayor Lester Miller and District Attorney Anita Reynolds Howard spoke at the event as well as Melanie Wolfe, who is the mother of Jessica Wolfe. Jessica Wolfe lost her life to domestic violence.

“We as a community must stand in the gap to provide a haven for those experiencing violence to stop this cycle and heal our city,” Howard said.

Miller said 25% to 30% of homicides in Bibb County this year were a result of a domestic violence issue.

“If we could just simply address those situations, our numbers would go down dramatically. And a lot of times we kind of put that on the back burner and we don’t put enough focus on that. And I’m glad that these groups are getting together. I’ll be happy to help promote in any way we can and provide resources necessary to make sure we don’t have all these flags here,” Miller said.

Miller announced a proclamation declaring October the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month for Macon-Bibb County.

The event organizers placed windmills in Rosa Parks Square to represent the people in Georgia who lost their lives to domestic violence, and the red windmills represented the people in Middle Georgia who lost their lives to domestic violence. A clothesline with t-shirts was also in the park, and the t-shirts were decorated by survivors of domestic violence.

Matred Conaway, a domestic violence advocate, said she moved to Bibb County from Delaware about five years ago, and she survived a violent relationship around 24 years ago.

“Just through a lot of support and love from my family, from my community, from our church family, I was able to find love again, rebuild, love myself again, back to a place where I knew that I was supposed to be,” she said.

The crowd in Rosa Parks Square lit candles and said a prayer for the survivors of domestic violence and the people who have died due to domestic violence.

“God has just been so faithful and so good. And I do believe that we are blessed to go through these things even though some things are very tragic and traumatic, but I do believe that there’s purpose behind everything that we go through,” Conaway said.