The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.), Andrew Dys column
By Andrew Dys, The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
On Wednesday afternoon, next to the club's stately home in a historic building on
"We call this the Eric Joseph Justice Garden, because it is dedicated to justice for everybody," said
These ladies do not take violence against anyone lightly.
"We loved
In the audience sat
"When you hurt one of us, one of our brothers and sisters, you hurt us all," Mayes told the gathering of people from all walks of life. Blacks and whites, cops and preachers, teachers and mothers. All united by one awful thing -- mayhem.
In the front row sat
The garden honors recent victims of domestic violence, too:
Mia, 9, and her grandmother,
In
"Without the enforcement resources, education and support for the victims of domestic violence, our situation will not improve," Brackett said. "Changing the mentality that, ?She's just going to go back to him, so there is no point in trying to stop this,' is critical to dealing with this problem.
"Access to shelters and support networks such as Safe Passage are absolutely essential to providing victims with an alternative to their dependence on their abuser."
Safe Passage, a nonprofit
In 2006, Brackett dedicated a prosecutor specifically to handle domestic violence cases and a court for first-time offenders.
The special court brings together the treatment resources victims need, while taking a hard line on domestic violence criminal cases.
Prosecutors and police often face an uphill battle, Smith said, as a victim often doesn't want her assaulter prosecuted because she relies on him financially. It is not uncommon for domestic violence offenders out on bond after arrest to re-offend.
In the face of all the pain brought on by acts of violence, the ladies of the
When Wednesday's ceremony was over, these people -- many of them strangers -- hugged.
Then they went inside the historic
These ladies not only give of themselves to those who are hurting, they are Southern Women -- genteel and raised right. All who came to their garden were guests, and when the
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