Sheriff Craig Webre wishes to remind residents that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The annual candlelight vigil for domestic violence victims and survivors will be held on Tuesday, October 18, at 6 p.m. at the Lafourche Central Market in Raceland,  the public is invited to attend.

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office and The P.A.C.T. Place Supervised Visitation and Exchange Center have teamed up with the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office and The Haven Domestic Violence Program to host the vigil. The theme of this year’s vigil is “A Walk in My Shoes.”  The vigil will honor the memory of those victims who died because of domestic violence, the victims who are surviving every day in their homes of violence, and to celebrate the survivors who have left the abuse and are now living violence-free.

Louisiana ranks second in the nation for the number of women murdered by men. At this year’s vigil,  we will honor 38 victims from Louisiana who died this past year due to domestic violence.

“The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office has long been a strong advocate for victims of domestic violence,” said Sheriff Webre. “Through this effort again this year, we hope to continue to bring awareness to the issue. Not only has this agency helped develop legislation to help prevent domestic violence, but we have also been a model agency showing others how to implement new regulations such as firearm divestiture for domestic abuse offenders.”

Follow the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office on social media to learn daily facts and statistics on domestic violence throughout the month of October.  For more information about the candlelight vigil, please contact The P.A.C.T. Place at (985) 532-4390.