Founded in 1976, Turning Point of Lehigh Valley provides a 24-hour hotline, emergency shelter, counseling, children’s services, legal advocacy, prevention education and housing assistance, according to Lehigh Valley Press. The organization also helps clients with longer-term housing, employment, transportation and financial resources. Turning Point’s mission is to eliminate abuse.
Turning Point served 3,772 residents. It also reports that advocacy services supported more than 3,900 individuals and that the organization’s progressive housing model helped more than 200 survivors find safe, stable housing. Lehigh Valley Press separately reported that Turning Point served more than 3,700 people across Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties last year.
The vigil brought survivor testimony together with a remembrance of people who died because of domestic violence. Lehigh Valley Press reported that more than 200 people attended the Evening of Unity at Penn State Lehigh Valley in Center Valley, where four survivors spoke and six people who died during the past year were honored. Public accounts differ on the event’s date and location: Lehigh Valley Press described an Oct. 15 gathering at Penn State Lehigh Valley; Lehigh University Student Affairs said the vigil was held Oct. 17 at First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem; and Lehigh Valley Public Media had listed an Oct. 15 event at Penn State Lehigh Valley.
The Lehigh Valley Press report recounted individual experiences in detail, including accounts from Sheila, Jacque and Darrah, as well as their recovery and efforts to seek help. It described testimony covering subjects including intimidation, financial abuse, strangulation and threats involving firearms. It also reported that speakers addressed obstacles to getting help and the challenges of rebuilding after abuse. The publication identified the four presenters as Sheila, Darrah, Jacque and Laura; Laura shared a poem titled “No Longer Silent.”
Turning Point describes its annual Evening of Unity as a signature event intended to elevate survivor voices and foster healing. The vigil takes place during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, observed each October. The organization’s event information is available through its events page.
