SABRA Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization serving clients of domestic and sexual violence, will hold its annual candlelight vigil Thursday at 7 p.m. at the St. James Hotel’s back terrace.

The vigil will serve as a way to honor victims and survivors of domestic violence. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, every 9 seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten and that one in three women and one in four men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.

Even one person being in an abusive relationship is one too many.  Many survivors said it best at last year’s vigil when they said “abuse is not love.”

SABRA has the resources available to help anyone dealing with a relationship where physical violence is present, and we encourage anyone in that situation to step forward and seek help. Life is too short not to.

SABRA can be reached on its 24 hours crisis hotline at 874-8711.

“It doesn’t matter where you are, at work or home, at church,” said SABRA Sanctuary executive director Nancy Travis. “It happens everywhere. Black, white, yellow, socioeconomic [class], it doesn’t matter.”

Those who participate in the short program Thursday are asked to wear purple, which is the color for Domestic Violence Awareness month. The program will include testimonies from domestic violence survivors and a song from Susan Keith.