LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With the coronavirus pandemic slowing down, calls to a Kentuckiana domestic violence shelter are at an all-time high.
The pandemic turned everyone's world upside down, and for those living through domestic violence and sexual abuse, it was a never-ending nightmare. Now, more people are finally able to escape their homes — and their abusers — for the first time in more than a year.
"People were in increased danger. They were stuck at home with their perpetrators," said Rev. Dr. Caitlin Simpson, the director of crisis response at the Center for Women and Families. "Their usual escapes to make phone calls at work and things like that were gone."
As people return to work, calls for help at the center are skyrocketing; through the first five months of 2021, Simpson said it has fielded more calls than it did during 2020.
"Between January and April, we've taken over 30,000 calls. It's not just a number. That's 30,000 people," Simpson said. "We, I think, expected calls to increase. What we weren't really prepared for — I don't know how you can prepare for it — is the intensity of hearing those stories, of hearing what people have had to survive. It is heartbreaking."
The influx of calls has prompted the shelter to ask the community for donations to help continue its services that are, unfortunately, in high demand.
"We can only do so much as our resources," Simpson said. "As the need increases, we recognize that there's a need to ask for help."
Donations could go toward funding the center's emergency shelter, helping families find a new place to live or navigate the court system. To make a donation, call the Center for Women & Families at 502-581-7200 or click here to visit its website.
"For as much as the people in the community come to us, we actually have to go right back to the community and say, 'Now we need you even more,'" Simpson said.
The Center for Women and Families serves nine Kentucky counties (Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, and Trimble) and Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana.
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