By Gina Martinez
The Korean American Family Service Center held its 19th Silent March Against Domestic Violence last week in Flushing.
According to the organization, the walk is intended to reinforce that domestic violence does exist in the Korean community, that domestic violence victims need to know their rights and that community organizations need to work together to prevent and end domestic violence.
KAFSC is a non-profit organization in the tristate area looking to prevent and stop domestic violence. They provide bilingual hot lines, family counseling, legal advocacy and workshops for families.
At the walk were several volunteers, including Queens resident Luis Vazquez, who is taking a history course on Korea, heard about the event through a professor and decided to volunteer.
“Personally I just wanted to meet new people while also volunteering for a good cause,” he said. “This is a good cause because it spreads awareness in the community, not only in Flushing but around Queens and even the city.”
At the walk were state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing), state Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D- Fresh Meadows) and Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing). The elected officials showed support and marched with volunteers.
“Partnering with community organizations to raise domestic violence awareness is essential to maximizing outreach and educational efforts,” Roznic said. “I am grateful to KAFSC for their dedicated advocacy through events such as the annual march and remain committed to supporting them by passing legislation that protects and empowers survivors in New York.”
Volunteers wore purple and chanted ‘Love shouldn’t hurt,” while children from the local YMCA released purple balloons in honor of domestic violence victims.
“This is an important event to raise awareness,” Danny Li, a volunteer who works with the KAFSC, said. “Basically our main goal is to raise awareness to stop domestic violence. This is my first year, I just started working here recently.”
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
