Austin residents remembered the lives of victims of violent crimes Wednesday in a memorial ceremony at Central Christian Church.
In the service, hosted by several organizations, including the Travis County Attorney's Office, the Austin Police Department, People Against Violent Crime and SafePlace, participants paid tribute to the victims and survivors of violent crime.
"It's more about raising concern and keeping concern in the community," said Mack Martinez, the trial chief for the Travis County Attorney's Office. "The community is very good about supporting agencies that work with violent crime."
The event also recognized Ed Born-Long, an Austin resident whose daughter was murdered in 1997 by an abusive boyfriend in California. Born-Long now works with SafePlace, an Austin shelter for victims of domestic abuse.
"The community deals with [violent crime] by supporting these kind of agencies," Martinez said. "That is our community coming forward and saying that this is our problem, not just [the victims'] problem."
Born-Long became involved with the organization two weeks after his daughter's death, when he received a $1,000 check from his roofing contractor association to give to any charity in his daughter's name. He now works to raise money and gather resources for SafePlace.
"I made three times as much as a contractor than I do working for SafePlace, but as my wife constantly tells me, I'm so much happier now," Born-Long said.
Martinez also said community support allows SafePlace and organizations like it to effectively combat the effects of violent crime.
"These agencies are able to work the frontline because they have so many volunteers," Martinez said. "It's important to keep that going."
This is the first year the memorial service has honored an individual for his work with the community. However, Martinez said it is important to recognize those who bring honor to the victims and survivors of violent crime.
In his speech, Born-Long stressed the importance of organizations like SafePlace.
"I sure intend to refocus the spotlight on SafePlace," Born-Long said. "SafePlace has done way more for me than I could ever do for them."
Be the first to comment on this article!