Domestic violence is not absent in our community. In fact, relationship violence has impacted the Ames and ISU communities on a tragic level multiple times over the past few years.

When an abusive relationship escalates to the level of murder or attempted murder, the whole community is affected. Its costs are both economic and social. You read about it in the paper. You see it on the news. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and my mission for this month is to draw awareness to those individuals whose stories you haven’t heard.

To the survivors of violence who are living in an abusive situation as you read this letter. To the survivors who have partners who isolate them from friends and family, who degrade them, who take away any control they had over their own life. To the survivors who are speaking up about the violence that envelops their existence, and to the survivors who still have yet to find a safe place to make their voice heard; I ask you, as a member of this community, to participate in Color the City Purple. Please wear purple Oct. 15 to support survivors of domestic violence. 

Engage in conversations with friends, family and other members of your community about this crime which affects one in four women in the United States. I invite you to stand with me in support of these individuals, and my hope is for all survivors to understand that their community, our community, stands behind them as they work toward living the life we all deserve: a life free of violence.