This video story is produced and reported by Leonardo Santos. Dylan Zuccarello is the anchor.
The pandemic has been especially hard on victims of domestic abuse. There has been a 9% increase in calls or texts to the National Domestic Violence Hotline since the start of the pandemic. This is possibly due to quarantine confining abusive couples into their homes.
“We saw at the very beginning, the pandemic, that it was actually harder for survivors to reach out for services,” said Mindy Murphy, the CEO of The Spring of Tampa Bay.
Tampa is the third highest city for contacts received by the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Adding to that statistic is that about 38% of women and 30% of men in Florida experience some form of domestic violence. The Spring of Tampa Bay and the Mary and Martha House are domestic violence centers that provide much needed help to survivors of domestic abuse.
“In addition to emergency shelter and transitional housing, we provide support services depending on what their barriers are. For the most part it’s counseling, access to legal advice, medical health and employment readiness,” said Leticia Feregrino, an administrator at the Mary and Martha House.
One of the most important aspects to helping a survivor is just hearing them out and creating a no-judgment zone. According to the hotline, emotional support is the main way to help someone recovering. If you want to learn more on how to help a survivor, click here for a detailed list on support methods.
Murphy believes in order to help out survivors it’s important to hear them out and not blame them.
“Our goal is not to shame you and into leaving the relationship. We recognize when somebody comes to us, that they might not be ready to leave a relationship, so we can help you if you’re still in that relationship, we can help you be safer,” Murphy said.
If you or someone you know needs help, visit thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233.
