STURGIS, MI — Approximately three dozen gathered Tuesday, Oct. 21 in the Sturgis High School gymnasium for the annual Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services candlelight vigil.

The gym was lined with personalized luminaries, remembering the nearly 80 St. Joseph County residents from 1971 to 2025 who died as a result of domestic violence.

One-in-four women and one-in-seven men experience domestic violence at some point in their lives, said Deborah Hackworth, co-executive director at DASAS. The number of victims is not completely known, Hackworth said, as domestic abuse and violence is an under-reported crime.

Remarks throughout the 90-minute vigil were given by Hackworth, DASAS board chair Sean Peterson, and St. Joseph County Prosecutor Deborah Davis, who highlighted the community's commitmen

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