Remembering and honoring the lives lost to domestic violence in Greenville and Pickens Counties was the purpose of a candlelight vigil held the evening of October 29, 2024 in front of the Greenville County Courthouse. The event was hosted by the Community Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Speakers included Andrew Culbreath, Chief Deputy Solicitor with the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and Breann Griffin, Program Director of Channel Missions’ The Hiding Place, located in Pickens County. Attendees also included representatives from Safe Harbor, victims’ advocates from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and Pickens Police Department, first responders, and family members of domestic violence victims.

The Community Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, a partnership between public and private sectors, seeks to increase awareness of domestic violence, reduce the number of incidents of domestic violence, and provide safety for domestic violence victims. According to the Solicitor’s Office, members of the Council include representatives from Magistrate’s Court, Family Court, law enforcement, the Solicitor’s Office, probation and parole, domestic violence survivors, clergy, domestic violence survivors advocates, domestic violence intervention programs, the medical profession, substance abuse counseling programs, Department of Social Services, and the education profession.