GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Community leaders in Kent County are organizing a candlelight vigil for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

It’s happening Monday at 7 p.m. on the west side of the Blue Bridge near Grand Valley State University’s downtown Grand Rapids campus.  

The county’s Domestic Violence Community Coordinated Response Team will honor lives lost to domestic violence. A memorial art installation will also be on display in the same area this week and next week.

Event organizers want the community to know just how many people are impacted by this type of violence. 

“Domestic violence happens in every single community, in every single neighborhood. And so I think, start by believing, start by acknowledging that survivors lived experience is truth,” Tara Aday, director of advocacy at Safe Haven, said.  

The Grand Rapids Police Department said it supports efforts to raise awareness about this tragic form of violence. 

If you would like to have someone you know honored at the vigil, email info@stopkentviolence.org.