CAPE ELIZABETH — Survivors with Finding Our Voices will publicly share their stories on lawn signs, in a panel discussion, and at a public rally during July in what has been officially declared "Cape Elizabeth Breaks the Silence of Domestic Abuse Month." 

The Town Council issued the proclamation at their June meeting at the request of Rachel Davis, director of the Thomas Memorial Public Library. The library is partnering with Finding Our Voices for the month-long commemoration.

“There is a stigma associated with seeking help with domestic violence, especially in communities like Cape Elizabeth," said Davis. "By raising awareness and providing educational resources, our hope is that the stigma will be removed and our local domestic abuse victims will get the support they need.” 

Tuesday, July 15, at 6:30 p.m., in the library, two authors will be among seven survivors aged 21 to 85 discussing the domestic abuse they transcended.

This event is free and open to the public and includes refreshments as well as an opportunity for one-on-one conversations with the panelists.  

Throughout the month, lawn signs featuring the faces and voices of 25 Maine domestic abuse survivors will be displayed throughout the town. A Finding Our Voices project created by high school students that examines unhealthy celebrity couple relationships will be exhibited in the library’s Stier Family Gallery. 

Davis, who is herself a survivor of childhood domestic abuse, has positioned the library as a safe place for victims of domestic violence to take the first steps toward finding help. The library’s initiatives around this issue include shelves in the library’s public bathrooms offering a selection of free books about domestic abuse, along with a note that says, “Take what you need.”  

Davis will participate on the July 15 panel, sharing her experience of growing up in a professional, affluent family and how witnessing domestic abuse as a child has had an ongoing impact on her life.

Rebekah Lowell, who has previously offered presentations and workshops at the library based on her children’s books, will talk about how she and her daughters were held captive by her husband for 10 years.  

Lilly DesRoberts, a 21-year-old UNE pre-dental student, will talk about being stalked and almost killed by her boyfriend. Lilly's summer job is as a dental assistant at Two Lights Dental, where Dr. Jacobson is one of 37 Maine dentists donating dental care to women and child survivors of domestic abuse through the Finding Our Voices program Finding Our Smiles. 

Members of the Cape Elizabeth police department also will be on hand at the July 15 event to share an overview of domestic abuse in the town, and what victims can expect if they reach out for help. 

Sponsors of the month's Finding Our Voices events are Spinnaker Trust and Clark Insurance. 

For more information about July’s domestic abuse awareness events in Cape Elizabeth visit https://www.thomasmemoriallibrary.org/

Finding Our Voices is the grassroots and survivor-powered nonprofit breaking the silence of domestic abuse across Maine. In addition to its innovative public awareness campaigns, the group empowers women survivors with online weekly support groups, healing retreats, and, through referral partners, access to free dental care and payments of apartment security deposits. For more information about Finding Our Voices visit https://findingourvoices.net