November is Family Violence Prevention Month, and Community Links has been working to raise awareness about the on-going problem.

Karan Lazaruk, Family Violence Treatment Services Facilitator with Community Links, said it is important to raise awareness about domestic violence, which often goes unnoticed. She said Airdrie is not immune to the problem of family violence.

"I think that a lot of people forget that family violence still occurs in daily life for a lot of people around the world and especially in Airdrie. I think in today's day and age where women have more rights maybe than they used to, people just assume that it's easy to get out of these situations."

As part of the awareness campaign, Community Links has hosted Light the Night every November for the past eight years. Lazaruk said around a dozen people took part this year.

"We do a little information session. We had a survivor of domestic violence speak and tell about her story, and then we talked about some of the programs and services that are available. Then those of us who were there all grabbed some flashlights and signs and we walked all the way down to City Hall and back."

City Council also proclaimed November Family Prevention Month at their first meeting of the month on November 6, and illuminated City Hall in purple to correspond with Light the Night on November 23.

Lazaruk thinks these types of awareness campaigns are important, because they do make people more knowledgeable about the problem of family violence. Even more important, victims might see the coverage and realize there are places they can turn to in Airdrie. To combat the problem of violence, Community Links has a number of resources available to anyone dealing with family violence.

"If they're in immediate danger, we always tell them to call 911, but if they're looking for help planning how to leave in a safer manner, they can definitely come to Community Links. You can come first come, first serve or you can phone us. Or go straight to Victim's Services, which is located in the Airdrie RCMP Detachment."

 

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