Purple porches shine a light on domestic violence

APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - The number of people who died from domestic violence is up 67% this year in Wisconsin. The Purple Porch Project is raising awareness and money to help support a Fox Valley domestic violence center.

For a donation of $20, you can get a Purple Porch Project kit. It includes a purple light bulb you can put in your porch light and shine a light on domestic and sexual violence.

You can buy Purple Porch Project kits at Fox Community Credit Union branches throughout the month of October. You can also buy the kit at Harbor House on Friday, Oct. 6, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Harbor House is a 68-bed facility that helps people who need a safe place to stay while they’re escaping a violent situation.

Harbor House provides meals and other basic needs for the people staying there, and it offers assistance in finding housing and legal advocacy.

The CEO, Kristina Kishbaugh, says the Purple Porch Project raises critical awareness for an alarming rise in domestic abuse in Wisconsin.

“This is a really real conversation in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is ranked number eight currently for most lives lost to domestic violence. Last year, a study came in and we had lost 60 lives to domestic violence in Wisconsin. This year it’s just over 100. It is increasing and we are losing lives.”

Even a small donation to Harbor House can have a big impact.

“There’s a lot of little things. So sometimes when people say, ‘I can only give $5′ or ‘I can only give $10.’ That is bus passes and people getting accessibility. It’s getting new shoes, new socks or clothes and different ways that we can help people get back some of the pieces they had to leave behind before they came here,” Kishbaugh said.

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