in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 29 ,2 02 1 | 26 Let your community know you're open for business. ommunity c ourt yeL To help our communitieswe have created an online business directory that features local businesses that are open, hours of operation and how customers can safelymake purchases from your store. Our business directory can be accessed from anyone of our 25 Community sites in Ontario. Visit metroland.com to find the community site in your area. Signing up is easy and free. 1 Visit our community website in your area and click on the banner at the bottom of the page 2 Click the "Add Business" link 3 Complete and submit the formSubmit www.metroland.com Don't let your deliveries pile up. Is your business prepared for the holiday rush? Now is the time to get your parcel delivery plans finalized with MPS. We provides final-mile delivery to over 3.85 million Ontario households. That's lot of homes for a lot of orders. Visit our website at metrolandparcelservices.ca Scan for more information Don't let your Scan for mationinfor This month, an anni- versary will be recog- nized. Unfortunately, it is not an anniversary that will be celebrated. That day in July, just one year ago, was the last time Paul and Flo Henderson-Bellman saw their beloved 'Dare,' Darian Hailey Henderson Bellman, alive. Darian, a 25-year-old woman from Georgetown, was fatally shot in Peel. A 27-year-old man she was in a relationship with has been charged with her murder and is awaiting trial. The charge hasn't been proven in court. As this anniversary ap- proaches, Paul and Flo wanted to share the fol- lowing words with our community; "As her parents, we hope this will draw atten- tion to violence against women and to those who need help. Due to the help of many groups like Vic- tim Services, Halton Wom- en's Place and the Peel and Halton regional police ser- vices, our hope is to create change in the judicial sys- tem ... (and ensure) the women experiencing abuse are helped. This would then mean Darian did not die in vain. Our pain will never cease. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank everyone who has supported us through this horrendous time and who are keeping up their fight for change." I have had the honour of meeting with Paul and Flo as they advocate for change within the justice system. I have learned about Darian's enthusi- asm for helping Paul with his hot rods, her empa- thetic heart which always saw the good in others, and her unconditional love for her family. Paul and Flo have shown tremendous cour- age and strength over and over again as they have reached out to others and shared their experiences. This is not an easy thing to do, but they have a reason. They don't want what al- legedly happened to Dar- ian to happen to any other young woman. They want women who are experi- encing abuse -- any kind of abuse -- to reach out for help. At Halton Women's Place we will continue to amplify the voices of wom- en and their families, like Darian's, as well as others who need their voices to be heard. The agencies that en- gage with survivors of do- mestic violence are frus- trated with the lack of abil- ity to keep women safe in the current system. Fol- lowing her death, Peel Re- gional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said, "This represents a tragic out- come for a young person who carried a bright fu- ture. In this incident, the sadness I feel for the vic- tim and her family is mixed with frustration for a complete failure of our justice system to protect her." I know that this month is incredibly hard for Paul and Flo, but it is important to talk about the issue and raise awareness in our community. Domestic violence knows no boundaries. It happens everywhere, and it happens in Halton, too. Help us raise awareness and let us create safe spac- es for women experienc- ing abuse to share what is happening to them. You are not alone. If you are in an abusive relationship or know someone who might be, please reach out to our Crisis, Information and Support lines at 905-332- 7892 and 905-878-8555 or chat online at www.hal- tonwomensplace.com/ chat -- all open 24 hours a day. Laurie Hepburn is the executive director at Hal- ton Women's Place. She can be reached at Lhep- burn@haltonwomen- splace.com. OPINION HEARTBREAKING ANNIVERSARY APPROACHES FAMILY HOPES DAUGHTER'S DEATH CREATES CHANGE WHEN IT COMES TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, WRITES LAURIE HEPBURN LAURIE HEPBURN Column SCAN THIS CODE for more local opinions.