Miller was just one of the victims remembered during a candlelight vigil for victims and survivors of domestic violence Tuesday at the People’s Church of East Lansing, 200 W. Grand River Ave.

MSU Safe Place, Capital Area Response Effort, or CARE, and End Violent Encounters Inc., or EVE Inc., hosted a slew of domestic awareness events throughout October — which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Jillian Pastoor, community relations coordinator for EVE Inc., said often times people aren’t aware that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Many of the month’s events, like poetry readings and discussions, were aimed at uniting the community against the issue.

“We want to keep it in the public eye because it is a huge problem,” she said.

According to the Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, 50 people were killed in domestic violence-related homicides in the state in 2006, as reported by local newspapers.

This number is an increase from the 42 Michigan people reported murdered through domestic violence situations in 2005.

On a local level, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges for 1,510 domestic assault cases in 2006.

Sgt. Cherie Ballor, Lansing Police Department’s domestic violence liaison, said there have been monumental changes to police understanding and response to domestic violence in the 20 years she has been an officer.

Ballor was the keynote speaker for Tuesday’s candlelight vigil.

“Domestic violence was thought of as a family matter; police weren’t trained to deal with it,” she said.

But now, police are receiving domestic assault training at the academy level, she said.

“No one is safe unless everyone is safe,” Ballor said.

A silent struggle, domestic violence is a problem that’s not often in the public eye, said Alyssa Baumann, volunteer and advocacy coordinator for MSU Safe Place, a domestic violence shelter for students, faculty, staff and their partners and children.

“It’s part of the dynamic of domestic violence — victims don’t talk about it because they’re ashamed, and they don’t think people will believe them,” she said.

Those who work with domestic violence victims in the field know it happens a lot more than it’s reported, Baumann said.

Safe Place housed 62 adults and children, and provided advocacy and nonresident support services to 65 survivors and their families in 2006.

The services, which are free and confidential, give those who have experienced relationship violence support in legal, educational, housing, financial and emotional needs. Safe Place also provides 24-hour support, individual counseling and support groups.

“We work with people to provide as much safety as we can,” Baumann said.

The domestic violence Baumann is talking about is not necessarily just the physical — it also includes emotional, economic, sexual and verbal abuse, controlling, stalking and isolation.

Domestic violence affects many different kinds of intimate relationships.

Violence between people who are or were dating, married or divorced, roommates and anyone who lived together can all be classified as domestic violence, said Telihia Dobson, CARE domestic violence advocate.

The main service of CARE is to provide advocacy and on-site crisis counseling for domestic violence victims, Dobson said.

“A lot of people don’t come forward because they are dependent on their abuser because they think they’ll lose their life or economic status,” she said. “A lot of people are still living silently because they don’t want to lose those things.”

In 2006, local police departments referred 1,557 cases to CARE, which made contact with 965 victims of domestic violence after an incident.

“Basically, it’s about empathy, empowerment and education — letting them know what programs are out there,” Dobson said.