In 2007, Congress designated Sept. 25 as the National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims, a time to remember those who lost their lives to senseless acts of violence.

To honor the memories of Lycoming County residents taken far too soon, Angel Families United will hold a ceremony and candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25.

This will be the fifth event for the area, which was started by group Lead Advocate Bridget Irwin, who had previously organized ceremonies in Alabama prior to moving back to the area.

“I recognized that there was nothing in our area, so I got some therapy friends together that had criminal justice backgrounds, and I said, ‘this is what I did down south. Let’s model it after that, and we built it one family at a time, and now we have a huge following,” Irwin said.

Irwin and her fellow advocates work with the District Attorney’s Office in order to connect the family members involved.

“It’s really become a beautiful thing,” Irwin said.

The group has been a breath of fresh air for those who have experienced such a tragic loss.

“They’re always really surprised that something like this exists, because they feel so alone when it happens, so when they find out that we exist, there’s a relief that happens, because they’re like, ‘wow, I’m suddenly surrounded by 100 people that understand what I’m going through,'” Irwin explained.

Though the internet has made connecting with others with shared trauma infinitely easier, the personal touch of groups like Angel Families United can have a profound effect on survivors, Irwin said.

“That in person support is important because you get into the court hearings and all of the intimate details being put on public scrutiny, having that in person support is so invaluable,” she said.

Additionally, the group does a lot of work to educate the public and even help the media to be more sensitive to the cases they cover.

“We monitor posts on Facebook often, and if we see something that’s either inconsiderate to the family or the victim, we’ll say, ‘hey, as a homicide victim advocate, we suggest this,'” Irwin said, adding that the group has even reached out to media sources suggesting more sensitive headlines or wording.

“I think it’s important, because as as a community, we want to hold space for healing, and not be condemning victims,” she said, referencing the recent murder of conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while holding a question and answer event on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

“We now, as a nation have kind of been exposed to something that our families are dealing with every day, so it’s kind of like, yeah, now suddenly you get it, and you don’t even know this person personally,” Irwin said.

Reactions to Kirk’s murder have been polarizing with a small minority excusing or even celebrating his death due to some of the more ideological positions he espoused.

“We always get those comments too, like, ‘oh, it’s little Philly, and ‘they brought it,’ but it doesn’t matter what kind of nefarious activities they were involved in, so, we’re trying to bring the focus back to the fact that a life was taken, and we don’t really care how it was lived,” Irwin said.

“With all the true crime documentaries, we’ve kind of been removed from the personal element of it. We’re seeing these young lives taken, and you just can’t help but wonder what were they going to positively contribute to their community,” she stressed, adding that it typically takes seven generations to heal the trauma that comes from such a loss.

Ceremonies like the one on Thursday are meant to not only help survivors heal, but also prepare them for what may lie ahead.

“We want everybody to feel safe enough to just kind of feel the feels. If you want to talk about your therapeutic journey, you can, if you want to talk about the personal impact, you can,” Irwin said.

“We just hold space for the speakers to discuss wherever they’re at in their journey. We have some people that have had the murder happen 20 years ago, and we have some people that it just happened four months ago,” she said.

“It kind of previews the stepping stones that people can choose to take on this journey. Healing isn’t linear, but it kind of shows them what they can expect and that they’re not the only ones going through it,” Irwin said.

“The speakers are going to get up and they’re going to share their testimony, we do the candlelight memorial, we read all of the victims names, and then we usually have a musical presentation,” Irwin said.

Speakers at this year’s ceremony include family members of Ronald Dailey Jr., who lost his life in a January 2024 double homicide, and Skyler Sholder, the wife of Robert “Bobby” Sholder Jr., a city native who tragically died during a multi-vehicle crash along Route 54 in Montour County in July of last year.

Heather Lane, the sister of Katlyn Harp, a Bloomsburg resident whose life was cut short in June of this year, also submitted a testimony to be read during the ceremony.

“Prior to the ceremony, at 5 p.m. we usually have a craft activity for the kiddos to engage in, to give them an age appropriate support, because the ceremony is pretty somber,” Irwin said.

As in previous years, North Central Bikers, based out of Sunbury, will be on hand to hang out with, and entertain any children in attendance, while parents observe or participate in the ceremony.

“I don’t know that a lot of people know the bikers are available, so it’s important that they come every year, so that people know that this is available for the kiddos,” Irwin said.

“I know that they’ve hung out with Ron Dailey’s son, and they’ve been an important part of his journey. So it’s just an incredible partnership,” she said.

Resources for both victim’s families and advocates will be available at the ceremony.

“All of us have criminal justice and therapy backgrounds, so we often do referrals to different agencies depending on different needs. And we have connections with all age levels, so we’re able to get kiddos into programs, as well,” Irwin said.

Though the group and ceremony are geared towards those who have lost loved ones, Irwin stressed that anyone can get involved.

“You don’t have to personally know a victim to come and show your support. We want the general public to come because we want this to be a community event,” Irwin stressed.

Anyone seeking support or wishing to be a source of support for the loved ones of those lost are encouraged to reach out to Angel Families United by phone at 570-447-2083 or via their Facebook page.