The Northwest Assistance Ministries' Family Violence Center is working on a number of public awareness campaigns for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Every year in October, NAM joins other Family Violence Assistance Organizations in orchestrating events and messages aimed at public education of the domestic violence issue. NAM's FVC is continuing to see a steady increase in domestic violence and sexual assault cases. "Just watch the news and you can see the tragic outcomes of way too many of these abusive relationships", stated Shery Johnson, NAM Family Violence Center Director.

"Our hope is by raising awareness of the problem lives will be saved and those tormented by abuse will seek assistance", added Johnson. The overall theme for the 2021 Awareness Campaign is "Paint the Town Purple". Friends are encouraged to tie purple ribbons around trees and yard poles to share the message. Ribbon tags, yard signs and a special QR code will be available for download and print. These signs are to be added to the ribbons to better explain the reason behind the campaign.

Another element of Domestic Violence Awareness Month is "Wear Purple Day". Everyone is asked to wear purple on October 21st. NAM is recruiting restaurants that will join the campaign and either offer discounts or make a small donation for every patron wearing purple on that day that visits their business.

A commemorative wreath will be placed in the lobby at NAM so that anyone may place a small purple ribbon to remember the over 215,000 victims of domestic abuse each year in Texas and the nearly 200 deaths that occur each and every year in this state.

NAM has added a Q&A section to our website and has opened a TikTok account aimed at reaching a younger audience with the hope of preventing future abuse. Please join NAM throughout the month of October as we work to raise awareness of Domestic Violence in our community.