LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Local companies step up to help keep the stories of victims of domestic and family violence on display in Allen County.
Cenovus Lima Refinery and Lima Powder Coating replaced wood silhouettes for Crossroads Crisis Center's "Silent Witness" project with ones made from aluminum. Plus, since they were powder coated, they will not need to be painted every year like the wood ones. The silhouettes are currently on display at the Lima Mall. The project has been going on since 1990 and tells the stories of 22 women, 2 men, and 11 children who lost their lives because of a family member or intimate partner.
"Everyone we worked on, we know that there is a story behind everyone," says Dan Groman, retired from Lima Refinery. "It represents a life that is gone. The missing spot in somebody's home. And it's remarkable looking at this and seeing this all completed."
"Each silhouette that we pulled off of the water jet, it represents somebody's story, somebody's life that ended because of domestic violence," adds Steve Hunt, Cenovus Lima Refinery. "And that's when it really started to sink in, you know, more and more every day, every time we make more of these. Every time we would make more of these is to what we could kind of bring awareness to. Help during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and do our both as people and also as a company in the community to try to bring a spotlight to this social issue."
The mother of Mikki Starr hopes her daughter's story helps others to step up and help people just like her Mikki.
"It helps me and I think the children and our family to put out the awareness of what something could happen so quickly," says Sheryl Christlieb, Mikki's mother. "It means the world to me. Because if one time, one person sees something, reads what's on these, can help them, that's what it's about."
Besides Cenovus, another person sewed blanket pouches for each of the silhouettes to be placed in for storage when Domestic Violence Month is over. The Silent Witness display will be up in the Lima Mall, located at 2400 Elida Rd, Lima, OH 45805 through this weekend.
