Haven House, community volunteers tie ribbons for domestic violence awareness

SANDOVAL COUNTY — A group of volunteers, including Sandoval District Attorney Barbara Romo, donned purple vests Saturday as they went from light pole to light pole to attach purple ribbons in several local communities to raise awareness of domestic violence.

The volunteers turned out to Rio Rancho, Bernalillo and Placitas in an annual event called “Purpling the Pole,” sponsored by Haven House, Sandoval County’s only domestic violence shelter.

The ribbons teams placed stretched up NM 528, from Westside Boulevard to Idalia Road Southwest. They also placed them up and down NM 313 in Bernalillo, near Romo’s office, and NM-165, near the Placitas Library. Moments of silence were held in honor of survivors, and volunteers heard from speakers before placing ribbons on poles.

Estella Weitz, executive director of Haven House, who wore a purple vest and carried a bin of pre-tied ribbons, said “Purpling the Poles” is about “bringing the community together so we can all unite for those who are affected by domestic violence.”

Scores of volunteers — oftentimes young and in groups — attached ribbons in the both the morning and afternoon.

“We want them to be thinking that they’re part of the community that’s breaking the cycle of domestic violence,” Weitz said. “If you’re not experiencing it yourself, you probably know someone who has experienced domestic violence.”

Approximately “one-third of adults in New Mexico have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime,” according to a recent report by the Intimate Partner Violence Death Review Team, based at the University of New Mexico.

Court records show that at least 1,000 domestic violence cases have been filed in Sandoval County courts since January 2024.

Earlier this year, the Rio Rancho Police Department reported eight murders in 2024 — five of which were considered domestic violence homicides.

Romo said it is important to raise awareness about domestic violence because it traditionally is a topic “nobody wants to talk about.” She then cited the old adage “what goes on in the house stays in the house.”

“We just need to get that message across that (domestic violence) is wrong and it’s OK to speak up and say something,” Romo said.

Aside from reporting domestic violence, the district attorney said educating kids and adults on the topic is key, including letting them know there are resources to help them. Haven House, for example, provides more than 260 beds.

Diversion programs are available for offenders, who, Romo said, often have anger management issues or grew up in a home with domestic violence. But if they don’t complete the program, the district attorney’s office will prosecute them, Romo said.

“There’s not a lot I can do in the community to prevent (domestic violence), but what I can do is events like this and (spread) awareness, letting victims know it’s OK to report it,” Romo said. “I’m not necessarily going to throw your partner in jail forever; we’re going to try to get him help.”

MaryEllen Garcia, chief executive officer of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, was out in Bernalillo tying purple ribbons with her teenage son. Garcia noted that it was more than just her 14-year-old that turned out Saturday to participate in the activity.

“(They were) saying, ‘We need to be aware that domestic violence exists in our community’ and ‘we will not be silenced,’” Garcia said.

On what she described as a “beautiful day with a slight wind,” she and others were able to post ribbons and engage with community members, who said they knew someone who is a victim of domestic violence but didn’t know how to address it.

“For us to be able to say, ‘Let us tell you what you can do,’ we created a space where it was OK to talk about a complex issue,” Garcia said.