Family Crisis Center hopes to 'break the silence' with music festival

Apr. 24—As the Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center prepares to present its annual music festival, Community Engagement Coordinator Whitney Thomas said the event helps to "break the silence" concerning domestic violence.

"Breaking the silence is an example of breaking that stigma and asking for help," Thomas said. "The biggest goal with this festival is letting people know that it's not a shameful thing to ask for help."

The Louder Together: Breaking the Silence music festival will be Saturday, May 4, at the Burr Performing Arts Park at 101 S. Hamilton St.

The free, family event is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. when you can shop from arts and crafts and food vendors. Live musical performances from local artists will begin on the Burr Park stage at 5 p.m.

Throughout the evening, musicians including Chase Baker, Cameron Rainey, Ashley Brooks and Easton Chambers will perform on the stage. Headlining the event will be Dalton Dover, a native of the small Polk County city of Aragon.

Dover, who recently performed at Nashville, Tennessee's Grand Ole Opry and has toured with his band across the continent, said he is "excited" to be close to his hometown once again.

"I can't wait to get back home and play for some of the home crowd," he said. "Some of my favorite people are going to be playing and it's close enough for my family to come. I'm really excited to be coming back."

Thomas said the festival will be the Family Crisis Center's fourth.

"It's grown every year and last year was our biggest year," she said. "It's a wonderful way for us to be able to put our mission and what we're doing here at the Crisis Center in front of people that have maybe never heard of us."

The agency, founded more than 40 years ago, advocates for victims of domestic violence.

"We serve women and men, and we have a shelter that's located in Whitfield County that serves Whitfield, Gordon and Murray counties," Thomas said. "We also do outreach services in the area where you don't have to come into the shelter to receive services. Things that we help with are rental assistance, power and food boxes."

The agency also conducts group therapy sessions, Thomas said.

"We really try to make sure that we fit to the person's needs in general," she said. "It's not a one-size-fits-all kind of experience for us."

Thomas said the festival will also be a great way to open the door for those in need of services.

"A lot of people may not want to go to mental health fairs and wellness fairs, but they will go and do family things and listen to music," she said. "Especially if it's in a very good location where you can get in and out of pretty easy. Burr Park is great because it's everything that we need for the agency to be able to get that information into different demographics' hands."

Thomas said several booths with information on the agency's services will be set up.

"That way if they have any questions on what we do or if they want to volunteer or see how they can help, that will be there for them," she said. "There will also be other nonprofits there with information about how to help with things like hospice and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children)."

Thomas said this year there will be a large presence of dessert vendors, including Nana's Brother's Homemade Goods, which sells fried pies, cookies and cakes.

The business once known as Nana's Homemade Goods has been a frequent collaborator with Family Crisis Center events. Owner Debbie "Nana" Baker Madden passed away in June 2023. Her brother, Gregory Baker, now operates the business.

"Nana's fried pies have been a huge deal in this city and we're glad her brother is going to be there this year," Thomas said. "Nana did a lot to support our agency throughout the years and with this festival, so her brother has picked up where she left off."

Thomas said the need for domestic violence awareness and advocacy is "huge" in the area.

"Last year alone, we had 12,000 (shelter) bed nights," she said, referencing the total number of beds occupied by a person at the shelter.

"And not only are we seeing a rise in domestic violence cases due to the economy, but mental health and drug abuse is up," she said. "So, it's causing more of an unstable situation in the home. It's very important that we have something where people have a place to go, and it's very important that we have something where people know that these services exist, because there's a lot of people that stay in situations that are unsafe because they have no clue that this even exists."