Members of BSG Coalition to End Violence, a local coordinating committee under Violence Prevention Southwest, gathered at the Stephenville Town Council on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 to witness the proclamation of February being observed as Violence Prevention Month in Stephenville. A group of 32 youth, seniors, and various community organizations and government officials sat dressed in pink as Mayor Tom Rose charged each of us as responsible for ensuring the message for anti-violence moves forward with us as we go about our daily lives in ou

r respective communities.“We must make sure our voices are heard in society!”

Bernice Hancock, Chair, BSG Coalition to End Violence, thanked all for coming out. “We each have a role, every day let’s remember what we can do and help make our community, our schools and our workplaces violent-free.” Adding, she spoke to the students in the room. “You are the future generation that will help us end violence.” 

Janice Kennedy, Executive Director of the BSG Status of Women’s Council urged that “when someone says that something is not right, believe them! Take advantages of the resources in our community.” She spoke of the recent tragedy in Conne River and told how a red dress still hangs in the window of the Women’s Center in remembrance of all the missing and murdered indigenous women in our country.

Reading the proclamation, Mayor Rose added, “Violence does not just affect the individual but it moves outward with it’s ripple effect felt by many.”