STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Almost 1,000 purple pinwheels were carefully placed into the ground in front of the Monroe County Courthouse.
Spinning in the wind, these pinwheels are not here for decoration but to raise awareness.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month.
"We just started putting these up, and a man came over right now and asked what are we doing? What are these purple pinwheels for? It does draw a lot of attention to domestic violence and that it does happen here in Monroe County," said Lauren Peterson, Monroe County Women's Resources.
Women's Resources of Monroe County hosts "Pinwheels for Peace" each year.
This year, 970 pinwheels have been placed into the ground. Each pinwheel represents one Monroe County resident assisted by Women's Resources within the last year.
"We started out in the 800s when we started it three years ago, and we are up into the thousands now," said Peterson.
Because of the pandemic, the organization had to cancel a lot of its fundraising events. Members are just happy they can still put up this display.
Monroe County Women's Resources partnered with East Stroudsburg University's wellness center.
Laura Suits is a coordinator at the wellness center. She volunteered her time to put out the pinwheels.
"It's so important to make sure that we realize that these numbers symbolize not only a pinwheel but a person as well that we have served in Monroe County from the amazing women's resources of Monroe County. It's just fabulous to know how many people we have served and how many people we still need to serve as well who haven't spoken out about it yet," said Laura Suits, ESU Wellness Center.
Women's Resources offers free and confidential services for anyone who has been a victim, or family member of victims, of domestic and or sexual abuse.