By Amelia Lanier
Organizers of a new peer support group in Rockbridge County are hoping to provide survivors of domestic and sexual abuse with a shared space where they can help one another navigate the recovery process.
Intersection 540 and Project Horizon are partnering to organize the group, which will bring together adult survivors of childhood trauma, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Efforts to form the group are being led by Kirsten Tharp, a volunteer at Intersection 540 and Project Horizon. Tharp said she decided to start the group because she saw a need for continued support beyond emergency resources offered in the Rockbridge community.
There are resources in Rockbridge County that provide help with emergency situations or mental health crises, including the Rockbridge Area Health Center and Project Horizon, Tharp said. But there is a greater need for resources that help survivors recover from the lasting mental and emotional impacts of sexual and domestic abuse.
“They say that the hardest part is leaving, and I agree that that part is really hard, but I feel like the emphasis is on leaving the situation more so than what your mind and body do after that,” Tharp said. “It can be a really long healing process for some people, and it can feel lonely and isolating.”
Project Horizon, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter and resources to victims of domestic violence, received 1,486 crisis hotline calls this year and provided 3,257 nights of emergency shelter, according to the group’s 2025-2026 annual report.
Judy Casteele, the executive director of Project Horizon, said domestic violence can be difficult to recognize because it is often kept secret. This causes survivors to feel isolated because they believe the abuse they receive is a result of their own actions.
“It makes victims very isolated because they think, ‘It’s only happening to me. It’s only happening within my family,’” she said. “It becomes a secret that people keep, and that isolates victims even further.”
of domestic violence by providing emergency shelter and resources to leave unsafe living
situations. (Photo by Amelia Lanier)
Project Horizon is working to integrate support for victims of domestic violence further into the community. The education team leader Joe D’Urso will begin training tattoo artists, hairdressers and bartenders in Lexington to recognize signs of domestic violence, according to Casteele.
D’Urso identified these professions a good fit because clients often talk about their personal lives during hair or tattoo appointments, and they are able to notice injuries while working with clients. D’Urso will train people with these jobs to connect clients to Project Horizon and other resources for domestic violence.
Lexington Police Department Capt. Jessica Burks, said domestic and sexual violence are often kept secret, making it difficult to determine how prevalent they are in a community.
“Through statistics, we have an idea of the extent of domestic violence and sexual abuse and sexual violence, but most people don’t know what’s going on in a family,” Burks said. “I know it’s more prevalent than what we’re aware of.”
A peer support group can help survivors recognize patterns in abusive behavior and realize that they are not alone in their experiences, according to Casteele.
“Our hope is that in this group … other victims come forward and go, ‘Wait a minute, not just me?’” Casteele said. “That then becomes strength.”
Burks said that the group could provide a new resource for survivors to connect to people who have experienced similar situations, which would encourage victims to learn how to leave dangerous situations.
“There’s that connection through shared experience, and I think that that’s incredibly valuable for people who are in these types of relationships,” Burks said. “There’s a little bit of consolation knowing that you’re not alone.”
At meetings, Tharp plans to introduce different topics, including trauma responses, healthy coping mechanisms and learning how to understand personal triggers. Meetings will also feature guest speakers.
The first meeting will be held Monday at 6 p.m. at Project Horizon, which is located on 120 Varner Lane. Future meetings will continue to be held on the second Monday of the month at the same time and place.
Outside of the monthly meetings, the support group will have one monthly gathering, according to Tharp. With the support group, she hopes participants will develop a social network and learn healthier ways to cope with difficult emotions.
“A social network would be good,” Tharp said. “A little bit of insight into their own behaviors and own triggers and maybe some positive coping mechanisms.”
Tharp emphasized that the group would be an inclusive space for all men, women, and non-binary adults. This inclusivity will help open the space to people who are at higher risk of abuse, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, according to Tharp.
“I do also feel like a lot of people in the LGBT community need somewhere to go if they have suffered childhood trauma, institutional trauma, religious trauma, things like that,” Tharp said. “This is going to be a really inclusive space for everybody, trauma related.”
Inclusivity is an important part of Intersection 540’s values, according to Tharp. The local organization is a diversity and community center that was formed earlier this year and focuses on creating inclusive spaces within Rockbridge.
This inclusiveness extends to victims of domestic violence who have not left their abusive relationships.
“We hope to provide some support and some resources to help people leave if they feel like they are being hurt, but by no means is anybody going to push or require,” Tharp said.
People interested in participating are welcome to join the group at any time in the year; advance registration is not required. People interested in attending can RSVP by email at intersection540@proton.me or just show up at the meeting.
“This group is going to be for survivors, by a survivor,” Tharp said. “I’m still healing and I’m still learning myself … I just hope that we can all benefit from the use of this space and the use of this group.”