Light Up City Hall
Domestic Violence Awareness Walk 2022
On Oct 7, 2022, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence held our annual Light Up City Hall Walk sponsored by Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco’s office. The walk began at Circle of the Palms Plaza in downtown San Jose and ended at City Hall where walkers and attendees were greeted with a resource fair. The evening included notable speakers, cultural performances, and food, and concluded with a candle-lighting ceremony and the lighting of the City Hall’s Tower and Rotunda in purple to honor lives lost from domestic violence.
Attendees were surrounded by resource tables*, and enjoyed free churros and hot coffee, music by DJ Eruvey, and a food truck, while gaining awareness of domestic violence from guest speakers. They were also given the opportunity to meet with leaders in our community and special guests all while enjoying cultural performances by; Viet Steps, Bloco de Sol San Jose, and Folklorico Colibri.
Special guests included; Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, Councilmember Matt Mahan, Senator Dave Cortese’s office, James Gibbons Shapiro Assistant District Attorney, Tracy Tefertiller Supervising Deputy District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney Byron Suarez, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, Chief of Staff Betty Duong and San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata.
Overall, we are very humbled to have had an impressive turnout of participants and attendees who are visibly passionate about the cause. From vendors to reporters, every contribution made a positive impact. Reporters from news networks such as Alianza Metropolitan News and Telemundo/NBC captured the event and conducted interviews with individuals such as our Executive Director Colsaria Henderson.
We would like to thank everyone for a successful Domestic Violence Walk & Resource Fair. Special thank you to Councilmember Carassco’s office for sponsoring the event and for their impactful role. We also would like to acknowledge the planning committee which consisted of representatives from AACI, Community Solutions, Maitri, and the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley. Last but not least, we are very appreciative of Next Door Solutions’ staff for taking the lead in organizing this year’s event. We look forward to continuing this yearly tradition.
*Informational resource tables that were in attendance are as follows:
- Council Office District 10,
- Maitri,
- AACI,
- Community Solutions,
- YMCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley,
- San Jose Moms Demand Action,
- Partners in Reading- San Jose Public Library,
- Santa Clara Family Health Plan,
- Bay Area Community Health,
- Alum Rock Counseling Center,
- Project Sentinel,
- County of Santa Clara Registrar of Voters,
- Downtown Youth Wellness Center,
- Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office,
- CommUniverCity SJSU,
- South Bay Community Land Trust, and
- SJPD family violence unit.
