Community rallies to Take Back the Night and raise awareness to domestic violence

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Dozens of people took to the streets of downtown Wilmington Thursday night for the 30th annual Domestic Violence Shelter “Take Back the Night” march and rally.

The theme this year is Shine the Light.

“We have come across so many people who could have let whatever has happened to them really bring them down both as survivors and people in the community. It’s hard to do this work. You feel like sometimes things aren’t going the right way or justice isn’t being served. But we see so many people who have been able to take that light from within and shine it outwards and bring hope into different situations,” said Tania Varela, Court Advocate Domestic Violence Shelter.

The guest speaker is Tikisha-Michelle with Education InsideOut, a program to bridge the gap between home and school with the mission to prepare and empower parents and teachers to properly and effectively impact the lives of children.

Tikisha-Michelle states, “My desire to help families has been with me since I was a young girl, and I look forward to seeing my desire become real life in the lives of the parents that I empower for years to come.”

She works with parents and schools to improve communication and expectation between both parties.

“If we don’t work together to help the parents -- people are always working to help the children directly, but those children go home -- so, it’s very important to me that we make sure we impact the lives of parents so that they can impact the lives of children, their family and ultimately society,” she said.

The march began and ended at the Harrelson Center at 20 North Fourth Street.

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