'Breaking the Cycle' event aimed at bringing awareness to domestic violence

A coalition of Westmoreland County organizers hopes to bring awareness to domestic violence through a community event at Greensburg’s St. Clair Park.

The Breaking the Cycle event, held by organizers of Unity in the Community rallies, is scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday. It will bring together speakers like NAACP State President Ken Huston and organizations including Westmoreland Community Action, Sages Army and Ray of Hope.

“October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it’s so important to me that we are working together to break the cycle,” said Ronel Baccus, organizer of Unity in the Community. “I organize these events so the community can hear from different perspectives and highlight how we need to come together to make change here in Westmoreland County.”

According to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women and one in seven men experience severe physical violence from an intimate partner. In addition, 109 people died last year from domestic violence incidents, the coalition said.

The event is part of the Unity in the Community rallies that have taken place at the park this year, each with the goal of highlighting different social issues.

In June, organizers held a rally to mark Juneteenth, the commemoration of June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with new the Civil War was over and that enslaved people were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862. It was hosted in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Conference of the NAACP.

Another rally was held in September, where speakers emphasized the need to work together on a broad front to improve conditions for all people, regardless of race, gender and income status. In addition, speakers said people must take personal responsibility, have a deeply felt commitment and be active to ensure basic human rights, including voting.

The event drew about 40 people to the park.

Saturday’s event will feature free food, resource tables and entertainment. Organizers will also be collecting items for the Blackburn Center Shelter, which works with victims of domestic and sexual abuse. Needed items for the shelter can be found on Blackburn’s website, blackburncenter.org/shelter-items-needed.