The sky was spectacularly clear today, except for a few wispy clouds and 114 balloons. It’s not too late. If you look outside, you just might see one of the white, red or purple balloons floating by. There were exactly 114 of ‘em.
Let’s face it. Balloons are synonymous with birthdays, celebrations and happy occasions, but in this case it was a mix of happy and not-so-happy. Sadly, they represented the 114 women who were killed in 2012 due to domestic violence in Texas. But seeing them as a group winging their way into a beautiful blue sky with temperatures in the 70’s made one feel the women’s spirits were free of all the worldly problems they had faced in life.
The balloon release was held at The Family Place following a lunch and presentation to various groups who work with TFP. The timing was just right. In addition to October being National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the occasion was also a part of TFP’s 35th anniversary and orchestrated by TFP’s Paige Flink and her hardworking-always-amazing staff. Greeting guests in the facility’s lobby, the staff had created a large wreath bearing the names of each of the 114.
Of that statewide number, nine women were from the Dallas area. During a presentation inside the TFP dining room, current residents stood holding purple balloons in the shape of stars and reading the Dallas-area victims’ names, the names of their killers and those they left behind.
Then the guests, residents and staff took the balloons outside and released them. It was poignant watching the balloons drift away to be lost forever, like the lives they represented.
Friday starts the Partners Card program that will raise money to fund TFP’s program to help people, both men and women, escape violence and create healthy lives for themselves and their families.