Purple bench project gains momentum
News
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Murray Bridge is the latest organisation to join an initiative supporting victims of domestic and family violence.
The purple bench project is an initiative from Canada that aims to raise awareness and support for victims and survivors of domestic and family violence.
Benches are painted purple, the signature colour of the initiative, and placed in public locations to memorialise victims of domestic and family violence and to provide contact details for help services for survivors.
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church member Ann-Marie Garrett said the purple bench had been been placed in a quiet and private spot in the garden at the front of the church in the hope it would provide a place for people to sit, contemplate and get help.
“It’s always a big thing to make that first phone call,” she said.
The parish is now the second in Murray Bridge to take part in the initiative, with St John’s Anglican Cathedral having installed a bench in August.
Mrs Garrett said the Anglican parish had kindly donated the leftover paint used for their bench.
Parish pastoral council chairperson Phil Nutt thanked Mrs Garrett for her efforts to get the bench installed.
“It’s all been thanks to Ann-Marie, the generosity of other churches and people’s goodwill,” he said.
Rob Hancock and Craig Garrett helped repair and paint the bench.
Mrs Garrett also thanked Helen Mattick and the Haven, who paid for the plaque that sits on the bench.
The Haven, managed by the Women’s Information Service, provides a safe place for women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence to access information and referral services.
Some purple paint still remains; Mrs Garrett said it would be sent to St Luke’s Anglican Church at Tailem Bend for them to install a bench of their own.
With each bench installed, the important message of community solidarity and remembrance is spread.
Earlier this year, a purple bench was installed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide in Mary MacKillop Place, Victoria Square.
Story courtesy of Kate Kinnear, Murray Bridge News.
