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On October 1, 2018, the Hampton Roads Military & Civilian Family Violence Prevention Council, comprised of regional civilian and military leaders, domestic violence programs, first responders, commonwealth’s attorneys, court services units, and community members, will gather at 6:30 p.m. at Town Center Fountain Plaza in Virginia Beach, Virginia for a domestic violence candlelight vigil.

The attorney general’s annual report shows that an average of 144 Virginians lose their lives each year to family or intimate partner violence, accounting for one in three homicides. Domestic violence shelters, will join multi-city Victim-Witness programs, military advocates, and other service providers to present information on safety and resources available to victims and their families.

Virginia Beach Domestic Violence Detective Lanus Geluso will deliver the keynote address for this year’s event which focuses on resilience. Following six years in the Navy, Geluso has spent 15 years with VBPD working primarily on sexual and physical abuse investigations. The program will also include the governor’s proclamation of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a survivor testimony by empowerment speaker Megan Hall, a Silent Witness dedication, and Remember My Name—the reading of names of this year’s family and intimate partner homicide victims from Hampton Roads.

This year’s vigil is organized by the Hampton Roads Military & Civilian Family Violence Prevention Council, formed in 2006 when military leaders from the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard and Air Force joined civic leaders and mayors from seven Hampton Roads cities to sign a memorandum of understanding establishing the Council. The Council’s main goal is to increase communication and collaboration between military and civilian resources to prevent family violence.