Help Now’s annual events next week in St. Cloud and Kissimmee
As the calendar charges toward the end of October—Domestic Violence Awareness Month—the message is that people should always be aware of dysfunction in relationships.
Help Now of Osceola County, the county’s nonprofit advocacy group that provides services to domestic violence victims, will hold its annual, traditional, powerful awareness events.
Supporters will come together Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. at St. Cloud City Hall for “A Light That Remembers,” Help Now’s second candlelight vigil that honors domestic violence victims and works to raise awareness and create lasting, meaningful change regarding such relationship abuse.
Thursday the focus shifts to Kissimmee, where the 17th annual Rally, Awareness Walk and Candlelight Vigil starts on the steps of the Osceola County Courthouse—where victims find justice—at 6 p.m. Survivors and advocates will deliver powerful messages, then walk in solidarity on a “Steps of Strength” tour through Downtown Kissimmee and honor lives lost while supporting survivors, ending with a candlelight vigil outside of the Kissimmee Police Department.
Highlighting the work that’s been done in prior years, Friday, artist Jules Ross came back to Broadway Pizza Bar in downtown Kissimmee to touch up the purple butterfly mural she painted in late 2021 in honor of Nicole Montalvo, a tragic victim of domestic violence. The location is symbolic because Montalvo was an employee at the restaurant.
In addition to the fresh coat of paint, and message, Help Now officials like Christina Montalvo, Nicole’s sister who became a primary prevention specialist for Help Now and now is its Youth Projects and Communications Ambassador, added a bougainvillea plant to the tribute.
After years of abuse detailed by family members and police records, Montalvo’s husband and father-in-law were charged in connection with her 2019 murder, and convicted and sentenced in 2021.
Among its prominent features are a DV awareness hashtag (#istandtobefreefromdomestic violence), a QR code that links to Help Now’s services, smaller butterflies that were painted by younger Montalvo family members, and lyrics from the hit Rachel Platt single “Fight Song,” which Christina said Nicole “listened to almost every day.”
“There’s a lot of meaning for this, and I get to see it every day,” Christina emotionally said Friday. “Because when we come here, it feels like she’s still with us.”
Help Now Executive Director Tammy Douglass said things like the mural and events like next week’s not only provide enormous tribute in the fight against domestic violence, but ongoing impact.
“That is the impact that this mural has made to this entire community and survivors: to give them hope,” she said. “It’s a symbol of hope in general, to all the survivors that we serve at Help Now, who come to us who are looking for help, and to those who haven’t yet reached out, a sign that it’s okay to reach out.”
Over the last two weeks, Help Now has accepted proclamations from the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud and Osceola County recognizing the work the organization does to support domestic violence victims and stop it where it can.
“We are certainly blessed for the work you do,” Osceola County Commissioner Viviana Janer said at Monday’s meeting.
“All year long, but especially in October, it’s an immense gift to see that our county supports domestic awareness and its survivors,” Douglass said. “We’ve really seen the community come together.”
