More than 40 people were on the back terrace of the St. James Hotel Thursday night for a candlelight vigil in honor of those who have been affected with domestic violence.

“We’re real excited about the crowd, we had a great crowd tonight,” said Nancy Travis, executive director of SABRA Sanctuary.

“I’m just very excited about the participation that we had tonight, and I just want to thank everyone for coming out and the survivors [for telling] their stories. I’m just so glad that SABRA Sanctuary is here and that we can take care of them.”

SABRA Sanctuary in Selma is a safe-haven for women and children who have gone through the struggles of domestic violence, and several of the women who spoke Thursday night have had firsthand experiences with SABRA and know its benefits.

Syntrena Jenkins, a domestic violence survivor who spoke at the vigil said she is thankful for SABRA and all that they have done for her and her two children.

“I felt like I had nowhere to go. I had no family here and I had nowhere to go,” Jenkins said.

“The SABRA house, they embraced me. I didn’t have to worry about anything. They helped me in every direction. With housing, with supplies, food, counseling, they helped me and the kids. We’re very thankful. My son, who was so afraid, when we got to SABRA, he was able to sleep and rest, so I really thank SABRA.”

Sgt. Natasha Fowlkes with the Selma Police Department took the microphone to tell her experience with domestic violence and how it has affected her life, turning a tragic story into a lifetime of helping others.

“June 4, 1944, I was awakened by two police officers at our front door informing my family that my mom [Ida Rozzell] was murdered the night before. She was beaten, strangled and left in a field. Her boyfriend turned himself in that morning and took the authorities to her body and she was pronounced dead on the scene that morning,” Fowlkes said.

“I knew at age 13 when that happened, that I wanted to become a police officer to prevent what happened to me, happening to others.”

SABRA’s 24 hour crisis hotline can be reached at 874-8711.