On Tuesday night, dozens of people gathered in a courtyard in Doylestown as organizers read the names of 119 Bucks County residents who have died from domestic violence since the 1980s.
Organizers said the “night of remembrance” is a solemn reminder of the importance of the work done by A Woman’s Place, Bucks County’s only domestic violence response agency that is marking its 50th anniversary this year.
“I think a lot of times people don’t realize how deadly domestic violence is,” said Jen Locker, executive director of A Woman’s Place. “They think it’s just an issue in the home or an unhealthy marriage … So it’s just really important to remember the people that we’ve lost in our community.”
Seven of those victims — Judith Castiglia, Fred Castiglia, Deborah Castiglia, Yuan Yuan Lu, Maria Popol, Dawn Myers and Mary Kate Golding — were killed this year.
Locker said, on average, five people die from domestic violence–related incidents in Bucks County each year. Most of them have never used A Woman’s Place’s services, she said, which shows both the need to reach more people and the effectiveness of the vital assistance they provide to those who seek their help.
“It shows that our services work and we’re helping and supporting people,” Locker said. “But then just knowing that there’s still that many people suffering in that fatal and lethal of a situation that we never knew about is kind of a tough thing to swallow.”
