WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — For Domestic Violence Awareness Month, many Hampton Roads organizations are joining forces to bring attention to violence in the area.
To stop the growing trend, the Avalon Center in Williamsburg pushes education.
The organization's community engagement coordinator, Leslie Jingluski, said domestic violence calls are rising steadily this year in Hampton Roads. The cycle is domestic violence among men, women and children.
"The only way to break that cycle is to get in there and teach healthy relationships and do the things that we need to know so that we can break that generational cycle of abuse," Jingluski said.
The Avalon Center operates a crisis hotline and emergency shelter, as well as provides counseling.
In 2017, the Avalon Center reported roughly 1,500 calls. That number was up to 1,700 last year. The Virginia Sexual Domestic Violence Action reported over 70,000 statewide.
"We're seeing an increase in calls at about 50 percent, which is massive," she said.
Jingluski said because of the pandemic, people were quarantined at home with their abusers. The increase in abuse included children.
"The issue we're seeing now is that the severity of the cases are increasing, because they were at home and they didn't have that frontline teacher to be able to identify a problem early," she said.
The center expanded its services and offers virtual and over-the-phone counseling now.
"Going to a center like Avalon, you worry about someone seeing you go there. Confidentiality becomes an issue," Jingluski said. "So, you worry about that you worry about transportation being able to get there. You worry about the safety of being with your abuser and what they're going to think if they find you going to one of these places."
Jingluski hopes the expanded services will generate more calls to get more people the help they need.
The Avalon Center and many other domestic violence organizations in Hampton Roads are holding a candlelight vigil Monday night to raise awareness.
It will take place at Fountain Plaza at Virginia Beach Town Center and The Lawn at Peninsula Town Center starting at 6:30 p.m. You can also watch the vigil on the Avalon Center's Facebook page.