SafeSpace advocates and potential supporters were treated last Monday evening to a brilliant performance by the classical guitarist Jason Vieaux at the Quail Valley River Club. Having previously invited Vieaux to perform for other nonprofit organizations dear to her heart, Cathy LaCroix enticed Vieaux to perform at a fourth visit to Vero Beach – this time for SafeSpace, which assists victims of domestic violence.
Vieaux took his enchanted audience on an international musical journey that left no doubt as to why he has achieved such worldwide acclaim. In February Vieaux’s solo album, Play, won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. His recording of Zapateado by Sainz de la Maza from that album was chosen by NPR Music as one of its 50 Favorite Songs of 2014, and it described Vieaux as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.”
Roughly 130 guests attended the delightful event, underwritten by Joe Temple and Margaret Richebourg, at the invitation of SafeSpace Community Champions Sheriff Deryl Loar, City Councilwoman Pilar Turner, Bob Schlitt, Jr., Janet Kelly, Gerri Ripp and Temple. Guests mingled over cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres before sitting to enjoy the special concert.
“It’s really just to connect people to our organization; to introduce and entertain,” said SafeSpace CEO Jill Borowicz, who like many SafeSpace staff is a domestic violence survivor.
There are more than 400 reported cases of domestic violence in Indian River County each year, and that does not include the untold number of episodes before a victim works up the courage to call 911. There is good reason behind that reluctance, as the murders of Diana Duve and more recently Cynthia Betts tragically confirm. As SafeSpace staff point out, a victim’s risk of death increases by 75 percent the moment she tries to leave the relationship.
“What we see happen after a tragedy is that we get a lot of calls to our hotline,” said Borowicz. “It’s a good news/bad news scenario. It brings greater awareness but it comes as a result of tragedy.”
A brief video presentation shown between musical sets revealed that an astonishing one in three women is, has been, or will be a victim of domestic violence in her lifetime; four women in the U.S. dying every day as a result. Their children – those who aren’t victims themselves – have a front row seat to horror, watching and listening as their mothers are battered into submission.
Their 55-bed Emergency Shelter in Martin County meets the immediate safety needs of women and children in the tri-county area on a 24/7 basis. The 12-bed Vero Beach facility now provides up to two years of longer-term housing for women without dependent children as they transition to self-sufficiency. Many more victims are assisted through crisis counseling, outreach and prevention programs, education and support programs, and victim advocacy to guide them toward living safe, independent lives.
The Indian River County hotline number is 772-569-7233; the statewide hotline is 800-500-1119.
