A Light for Every Life: Ashland Community Honors Domestic Violence Victims, Stands With Survivors
ASHLAND, Ohio — With candles in their hands and photographs of loved ones before them, Ashland community members gathered for an evening of remembrance, sharing grief, offering encouragement and reminding survivors of domestic violence that they have people willing to stand beside them.
Safe Haven’s candlelight vigil honored 10 women whose lives were taken by domestic violence. Families, survivors, advocates, community leaders and law enforcement gathered to remember them and support those still living with abuse or its lasting effects.
For Safe Haven Director Rebecca Garcia, the gathering was an opportunity to give each woman the remembrance she deserves.
“Each one of them, their lives mattered,” Garcia said.
She thanked families and community members for coming together and emphasized that Safe Haven supports men, women and children experiencing violence.
Throughout the evening, speakers urged those gathered to remember the women for the lives they lived, their relationships, their love and everything they meant to the people who knew them.
As their names and stories were read, loved ones were invited forward to illuminate candles beside their photographs. A final candle honored unknown victims, including people whose stories have never been heard. A moment of silence followed.
Mayor Matt Miller spoke about the safety and love that every home should offer, while acknowledging that appearances can conceal what happens inside.
He asked the community to remember four groups: those who have died, those who have escaped abuse, those carrying its lasting trauma and those still living in fear.
“When we remember these women tonight, let’s remember them as strong, beautiful, courageous, loving, intelligent women,” Miller said.
His remarks became deeply personal as he recalled experiencing domestic violence in his childhood home. As a young boy, he said, he would find a telephone and call his grandmother, trusting that she and his grandfather would come and stop what was happening.
Miller described how a recent conversation about his grandmother brought those memories back, leaving him sobbing in an airport decades later.
His account highlighted a message shared throughout the vigil: the effects of violence can remain long after the immediate danger has passed.
Miller offered a prayer for people experiencing abuse, for children caught in violent homes and for those who need protection and help. He also read a proclamation recognizing October 2026 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Ashland.
A representative of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, who shared that she is also a survivor, encouraged the community to offer patient, consistent support.
Leaving an abusive relationship, she explained, is not always the end of a survivor’s struggle. Healing has no fixed timetable, and support may mean answering another phone call, listening without judgment or remaining present when there is no easy answer.
“Survivors don’t need us to decide their lives for them,” she said. “They need people who will believe them and continue to be there without judgment.”
She urged residents to consider how their conversations about abuse may sound to someone who has not yet felt safe enough to disclose what happened.
Sometimes, she said, support begins with three words: “I believe you.”
When attendees were invited to speak, survivors and family members shared accounts of fear, escape and the difficult work of rebuilding their lives.
One survivor described the embarrassment and uncertainty she initially felt about seeking help. She worried whether people would believe her or question why she had stayed.
Her message to others was clear: “You are not alone and it isn’t your fault.”
Another survivor, who introduced herself as Bonnie, spoke about having her own home and a job after leaving an abusive marriage. She also described how difficult everyday life can remain after years of isolation.
“I’m not afraid anymore,” she said.
Bonnie credited Safe Haven with helping her survive and thanked Ashland police for responding when she needed assistance.
Another speaker recalled how she and her siblings helped their mother leave a dangerous situation and return to Ohio. Her gratitude was simple and deeply felt: they had been able to save their mother.
As the evening drew to a close, Garcia recognized the staff, volunteers, law enforcement partners and community members who make Safe Haven’s work possible.
She said the program has more than 25 active volunteers and described the care offered through shelter services, court advocacy, prevention education, support groups and help accessing community resources.
She also shared an example of Ashland’s generosity: after Safe Haven posted a need online earlier this year, the requested item arrived at its door within half an hour.
Before families departed, Garcia invited them to place their candles beside their loved ones’ photographs.
The evening’s call to the community extended beyond the vigil: keep remembering the women who should still be here, keep supporting their families and keep showing up for survivors when they ask for help.
