(Radio Iowa) – A Fort Dodge church will be the setting for tonight’s (Thursday) candlelight vigil to remember victims of domestic violence in Iowa. Leah Bair, of the Fort Dodge-based Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center, says it’s a somber, annual event. “We will be reading the names of those who have lost their lives due to domestic violence,” Bair says, “and it’s really just a big community event to remember those that have been affected or have lost their lives due to domestic violence.” Tonight’s program is at 6 o’clock at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge.

While working to overcome a financial challenge, Bair says her office has also seen an increase in calls for assistance.  “We did take some budget cuts over the last several years, which has made it so that we weren’t able to staff as much as we had previously,” Bair says, “but our numbers have gone up, but sometimes that is a good thing for us, because people know we’re here to help.” The center serves victims of domestic and sexual violence in a 20-county area of north-central Iowa.

The Crisis Line is 1-888-356-2006.
www.dsaoc.com