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Moms on a Mission (M.O.M.) put on a sexual assault awareness and child abuse awareness candlelight vigil at one of the pavilions at Central Park Thursday.
Stephanie Cole, co-organizer, said during Thursday’s event music would be played and she and co-organizer Melissa Villa would speak, as well as anyone else who wanted to speak. Then the group would have a candlelight vigil.
“We do it for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Awareness Month,” Cole said. This is the third or fourth year MOM has put on a vigil during April.
Cole said a relative was sexually assaulted. She met Villa and a fundraiser was held at Villa’s house. They then tried to get the person who assaulted a relative of Villa’s charged.
The purpose of M.O.M. is to get as many predators off the streets as possible, Cole said. Their tactics are not the same as Bikers Against Predators. Members of M.O.M. do not confront anyone. They wait until the person has a warrant and informs law enforcement of where the person is and try to help police catch the person. Members of M.O.M. also go to court dates to support victims.
During candlelight vigils like Thursday’s, Cole said they hope to bring more people together to support survivors. They hope to spread the word and get better turnout at their events.
During the vigil, Villa said Thursday was not about being comfortable, it was about being honest.
“The truth is assault, sexual assault and child abuse don’t happen somewhere else. They happen in our neighborhoods, our schools, in our families and sometimes in places we were told were safe,” Villa said. “And that’s what makes it so hard to talk about. We don’t want to believe it. We don’t want to see it and sometimes we don’t want to choose sides, but silence has never protected a child. Silence has never healed a survivor and silence has never stopped abuse. What has stopped it is someone pay attention. Someone speaking up, someone willing to say something isn’t right.”
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Awareness Month. Villa said this month isn’t just about awareness, it’s about accountability. Awareness without action is just another way to ignore the situation.
People who want to contact M.O.M. can message Cole or Villa through their personal Facebook pages. There is a M.O.M. Facebook page, which is currently private.
