What Do Purple Porch Lights Mean in New York?

If you've been seeing purple porch lights around Upstate New York there's a reason for it and it might surprise you.

All around us we have people that are fighting unseen battles. They go unnoticed quite often because those people may not want the attention or they simply could be uncomfortable discussing it. One way that people have been able to show their support over the years was by changing the color of their porch light.

Last week I was taking a walk around my neighborhood in Albany when I noticed one of my neighbors had a purple porch light. I figured their must be some meaning behind this and sure enough I was able to figure out that meaning.

Purple Porch Light Meaning

If you see a purple porch light that is a way for someone to show their support and raise awareness for victims of domestic violence. Why would you see one in April if you're walking or driving around the Capital Region?

I thought that it may have meant that April or March was domestic violence awareness month, but that's not the case. That is in October. However, the first full week of March is known as "No More Week."

What is No More?

Each year, NO MORE Week brings together people from every corner of society and the world to say “NO MORE” to domestic and sexual violence.

That is from the official No More Week website. April is also sexual assault awareness month as well.

There are different color porch lights to help raise awareness for various things. You can learn more about all of them, here. Maybe you could help by changing your porch light to let people know you see them and you care.