On average, almost 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States, which equates to more than 10 million women and men in a single year, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, an agency with a service area that includes more than two dozen counties in Tennessee and North Georgia, works holistically with community partners to address domestic violence, CEO Kevin Hyde said.
Last year, he said, victim support services staff received and responded to 2,221 calls to the group’s crisis hotline, up 719 from the previous year. The partnership’s domestic violence shelter also provided 13,162 nights of safe refuge for victims, up by nearly 5,000 nights from the prior year.
“The numbers are revealing,” Hyde said during a ceremony Thursday morning at the Hamilton County-Chattanooga Courts Building. “But it’s not the numbers that are important. Each number represents something precious: A real person. A mother, a father, a sister, a brother, a partner or friend.”
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp joined leaders from local service organizations to read a proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness month, which is an annual national observance.
“I don’t know that there’s an issue that unites more of a cross-section of this community — across political parties, across races, across law enforcement agencies — than this idea that we would protect the vulnerable, we would empower them to speak out,” Wamp said. “It comes in all sorts of different forms, some that are obvious and some that are more quiet.”
While there are many types of perpetrators and victims, Wamp said, it’s particularly important to instill values in the minds of young boys, who should be taught at the earliest age to treat women with respect.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Mayors Tim Kelly and Weston Wamp joined local representatives from organizations, such as the Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults, to read a proclamation which recognizes October as Domestic Violence Awareness month on October 6, 2022 at the Hamilton County Courts building.“One of the crises in our community and our school system is that we need young men to take responsibility for their actions,” Wamp said.
Kelly said city and county leaders are committed to supporting the efforts of the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults and the Chattanooga Hamilton County Family Justice Center.
The Chattanooga Police Department remains committed to victim-centered policing, he said, and the city’s department of community health is focused on fostering improved emotional and mental health to help prevent domestic violence.
“This is an issue that touches everybody in every community,” Kelly said. “I don’t know a person who hasn’t had some personal experience with this and the trauma that domestic violence creates ripples through communities.”
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Regina McDevitt of the Hamilton County Family Justice Center speaks to the audience on October 6, 2022 at the Hamilton County Courts building. Mayors Tim Kelly and Weston Wamp joined local representatives from organizations, such as the Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults, to read a proclamation which recognizes October as Domestic Violence Awareness month.According to the city’s information portal, ChattaData, Chattanooga police recorded 198 incidents of domestic violence in September and 215 in August.
Regina McDevitt, executive director of the Chattanooga Hamilton County Family Justice Center, said 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
“It’s a lot closer than you may realize,” she said.
At the Family Justice Center, McDevitt said, officials bring together public and private organizations to provide support for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault as well as elder and child abuse. Staff members work to connect survivors with resources that can meet their specific needs.
“Creating a coordinated approach is the only way to truly serve victims and hold perpetrators accountable,” McDevitt said.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @flavid_doyd.