At the request of Thomas Memorial Library Director Rachel Davis, the Town Council made a proclamation declaring July as Cape Elizabeth Breaks the Silence of Domestic Abuse Month at their June 9 meeting.
Davis has been working with the Cape Elizabeth Police Department and the statewide non-profit organization Finding Our Voices to raise awareness and provide services for people struggling with domestic abuse. Cape Elizabeth will be joining many other Maine towns who have partnered with Finding Our Voices to bring survivor-powered domestic abuse-awareness campaigns to their communities.
Although the request for the July proclamation was initiated by the Library Director, the intent of the proclamation is to make the awareness campaign an annual town-wide event. During the month of July, residents of and visitors to Cape Elizabeth will see yellow displayed throughout the town including in public offices. According to Patrisha Mclean, Finding Our Voices CEO and founder, yellow being the color of her group symbolizes domestic abuse survivors who “have managed to cross over to the bright side of safety and freedom, shining a light for our sisters who are still in the dark.”
McLean’s photo portraits of 50 Maine survivors–including Governor Janet T. Mills–are featured in the group’s ground-breaking domestic abuse-awareness posters. The July exhibit in the Stier Family Gallery at the library will feature a selection of these posters, as well as artwork created by Maine high school students through the Finding Our Voices “This is Not Love” campaign.
On the evening of July 15, the library hosted Finding Our Voices Survivor-Speaks panel discussion on domestic abuse. That day, Finding Our Voices also held an outdoor rally educating the public about the domestic abuse that is all around us (see photo below.)
If you are experiencing domestic abuse and would like help navigating avenues of support, please visit the library’s Family and Intimate Partner Abuse resource page, or feel free to reach out to Library Director Rachel Davis directly.
If you or someone you know is currently in immediate danger, call 911.
ORDERED, the Cape Elizabeth Town Council makes the following Proclamation:
WHEREAS, domestic abuse and violence are a public health emergency that disproportionately impacts women and children; and
WHEREAS, domestic violence imperils the general public and police; and
WHEREAS, each year for decades nearly half the homicides in Maine are related to domestic violence; and
WHEREAS, domestic abuse and violence are preventable through public education initiatives, advocacy for better policies and support systems, resources for people affected by abuse, and holding perpetrators to account; and
WHEREAS, we all have a role to play in changing the cultural norms and interrupting the belief systems that underlie abuse and in making abusive behavior socially unacceptable: and
WHEREAS, Cape Elizabeth Breaks the Silence of Domestic Abuse Month is an opportunity to shine a critical light on the issue of domestic abuse and violence in our greater community.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved the Cape Elizabeth Town Council does recognize July 2025 as CAPE ELIZABETH BREAKS THE SILENCE OF DOMESTIC ABUSE MONTH and urges all citizens to recognize this observance.
Approved by unanimous vote by the Cape Elizabeth Town Council, June 9, 2025
You will continue to see yellow throughout Town during the month of July, including at all the public desks at Town departments, and yellow awareness ribbons at public meetings.
Want to become involved? Email Rachel Davis, Library Director, at rdavis@thomas.lib.me.us
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