Family, Pitt County working to help domestic violence victims

GREENVILLE, Pitt County — The family of a domestic violence victim wants to both remember her and carry on her legacy by helping other victims. Caitlyn Whitehurst was killed by her boyfriend in May, and her sister Logan has started a charity in her honor- Caitlyn's Courage.

The charity focuses on helping spread awareness of domestic violence and honoring Caitlyn by helping other victims through support and resources. Through the charity, Whitehurst is hosting the Domestic Violence Gala that will raise money to open a 24-hour secured safehouse for victims who need help.

Whitehurst says she knows her sister would want this to be her legacy.

"She would have wanted us to give her death a positive meaning and not a negative one and harbor bad feelings," she explains. "So in light of what happened to her, we're trying to shed some positivity there, and the only way that we could do that is to do what she would have done and that's to help other people."

Tickets for the October 5th gala can be purchased on the Caitlyn's Courage website.

The Pitt County Sheriff's Office says they seek to work alongside domestic violence organizations to help victims in the community. Chief Deputy John Guard, with the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, says Pitt County has one of the best domestic violence programs in the country. Guard says officials and law enforcement from Iowa have been in Pitt County learning how law enforcement, advocates, probation officers and the courts can work together to best help the victim.

Here are some resources that can help domestic violence survivors and family members in the area:

• Pitt County: Center for Family Violence Prevention - www.c4fvp.org, (252) 758-4400 (also available in Martin and Washington counties),
• Beaufort County: Ruth's House - www.ruths-house.org, (252) 623-2101,
• Craven County: Coastal Women's Shelter - www.coastalwomensshelter.org, (252) 638-4509 (also available in Pamlico County).
• National Domestic Violence Hotline - www.thehotline.org, 1-800-799-7233