The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

The student news site of Mountlake Terrace High School in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

The Hawkeye

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness in Mountlake Terrace

To combat the issue of domestic violence, the City of Mountlake Terrace (MLT) has proclaimed October to be “Domestic Violence Awareness Month.” The proclamation was decided on the city council’s Sept. 17 meeting.

Part of the city’s activities for Domestic Violence Awareness Month include the “Purple Light Night Campaign.” Residents are encouraged to display purple lights (called black lights) to support the color of domestic violence prevention.

“We hope that when neighbors see others in their neighborhood shining a purple light bulb in their entryway or window, they will ask that neighbor what it’s all about,” MLT Police Dept. Domestic Violence Coordinator Danielle Signson said. “This is an opportunity for people to talk about domestic violence and make others aware that while we don’t often see or hear about it, domestic violence is still prevalent in our community,” she said. Residents are encouraged to display purple lights. Purple lights are available for residents to take for free.

Nationally, the issue of  domestic violence is a major problem, even among teens. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, “one in three teens report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, slapped, choked or physically hurt by his [or] her partner.”

Domestic violence is a major problem in Mountlake Terrace as well. “Over the last five years the calls for service for domestic violence has been relatively consistent, with over 450 calls per year,” according  to Signson.

Signson said this is sadly typical. “Domestic violence happens in every community, regardless of the cultural makeup of the community, or the socio-economic class,” she said.

Another key component to MLT’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month is the Oct. 16. Candlelight Vigil, at the MLT Police Department. The vigil will be for the victims of domestic violence. Victims of domestic violence are extremely common. According to the Domestic Violence Resource Center, about 25 percent of women experience domestic violence some time in their life.

One of the city’s and police department’s goals for Domestic Awareness Month is to prevent domestic violence through.

“The best way citizens of our community can support Domestic Violence Prevention is to talk about domestic violence to others in their lives.  They can talk to children about appropriate conflict resolution and to other adults about the prevalence of domestic violence,” Signson said.

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Purple lights are still available for residents to take. They can be obtained by calling Singson at (425)-744-6257.

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About the Contributor
Nick Fiorillo, Editor-in-Chief

Nick Fiorillo is the Editor-in-Chief of the Hawkeye and thehawkeye.org. This is Nick's second year of serving as editor. Last year, he led the Hawkeye in one of the organization's most dramatic transformations in decades, replacing the broadsheet newspaper with a feature based newsmagazine and an emphasis on online content.

Prior to serving as editor-in-chief, Nick was the local news editor during his sophomore year and was a staff reporter during his freshman year.

Nick was named as the 2014 Free Spirit Scholar from Washington state, and traveled to Washington, D.C. as the Washington state delegate to the 2014 Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference. He has received several state and national awards for journalism, including several JEA National Write-off Competition Awards. He was recently awarded the rating of "Superior" for Editorial Writing at the Spring 2014 JEA/NSPA High School Journalism Conference in San Diego, Calif.

His interests include journalism, politics, public policy, law and education. He plans on attending a four-year university and majoring in political science and social policy.

You can view his pressfolio here.

Twitter: @nick_fiorillo

LinkedIn: Nick Fiorillo

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