As the community of Barrow recuperates from the tragic events that took the life of a 3-year-old girl, one group of women -- mostly mothers of young women -- decided to spread some hope.

It started simply enough with a purple ribbon here and there tied to stop signs and power poles. Then it grew to car antennas and pins on people's jackets. Pretty soon, the town's supply of purple fabric was dwindling. The effort spread to the North Slope Borough, which organized a walk that drew some 100 people. That's the power of hope, say the young women.

"There were so many negative things going on around our town," said Heather Lemen, one of the people who hung purple ribbons around town last week in remembrance of the little girl and in an effort to raise awareness about domestic violence, among other issues. "This last incident was the last straw. It hit hard on the whole town. We wanted to do something about it."

Lemen, Stephanie Lozano, NorDel Sundai, Andrea Kanayurak, and Marlana Peidlow all joined the effort, decorating more than 70 poles and stop signs with purple.

"We wanted to let our younger generation know that when this stuff happens, there comes a time when you have to speak up and deal with what has already been done and make something positive out of it," said Loranzo. "Each of my friends has kids in the same age group and it really hit us hard. We wanted to show that there is a positive side to our town."

Meanwhile, at the North Slope Borough Mayor's Office, plans were underway to draw the community together in another healthy and healing event. The North Slope Borough Health Department worked with the mayor's office to create the Walk of Hope, which was held Friday, drawing a street-filling crowd.

"We came together to speak up and express our strong commitment to creating a healthy community and to honor victims of family violence," said Virginia Walsh, program coordinator with the North Slope Borough Health Department's Arctic Women in Crisis.

The event included speeches by police, health department officials, and Mayor Charlotte Brower.

"Brower provided a powerful speech that resonated with all in attendance, reminding and challenging all that it is up to us to lead a life that is violence-free," said Virginia Walsh, program coordinator of the borough health department.

Justina Wilhelm, deputy director of the department, said the event was geared to meet the needs of area communities that have experienced acts of violence over the past few months.

"The Walk of Hope was identified as an opportunity for community members to empower themselves while acknowledging that domestic violence is an issue common to all levels of communities, male and female, young and old," said Wilhelm. "It was a heartfelt event demonstrating that in light of recent events, we are still a very healthy community continually working to improve ourselves."

The event is one of many walks planned in coming months around the borough, organizers say, including the upcoming Choose Respect Walk, as part of Gov. Sean Parnell's initiative to address this issue at a state level.

Wilhelm said the borough health department looks forward to continuing prevention, education and awareness efforts on wellness issues and collaborating with other agencies and providers. Anyone needing assistance can contact the department at 852-0366 or toll free at (800) 478-0267.

As for the five women, they encouraged people to contribute to condolence boxes for the family of the young girl who lost her life around town at the borough, the bank and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. office.

They say the impact of taking a positive action to combat a sad situation is obvious already -- in their children.

Following TV coverage of their effort, one of their 3-year-olds recently said, "My mom's making the town happy. Can I watch her on TV again?"

This article was originally published by The Arctic Sounder and is reprinted here with permission.