City seeing an increase in homicides
Officials: Nearly half are domestic, family violence
Cathy King was “free-hearted,” giving love to everyone and helping those in need.
Amarah “Jerica” Banks was completely dedicated to her two daughters and son.
Teresa Thomas “took care of everybody.”
Now, they are all gone, killed in acts of domestic or family violence, leaving behind grieving loved ones and communities.
Milwaukee has seen a sharp increase in overall homicides this year, with 56 victims compared to 26 victims at the same time in 2019. This year, 10 victims died in two mass shootings, one of which claimed Thomas’ life.
More than 40% of those homicides — or two out of every five — were related to domestic or family violence, according to local advocates.
“If women and children in any community aren’t safe, nobody is safe,” said Reggie Moore, director of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention.
Even before coronavirus brought heightened concerns about domestic violence, Milwaukee already faced a serious problem. Although total homicides had continued a downward trend last year, about one in five killings had a link to domestic violence.
“We’ve been talking about crime going down overall, but domestic violence and sexual assault, those sensitive crimes have not gone down for quite a while and they’ve persistently been higher,” said Carmen Pitre, president
and chief executive of the Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee.
“It’s a different type of crime, and it has different factors, different nuances, and needs different responses,” she said.
And the trend is not isolated to Milwaukee.
The HOPE Domestic Violence Homicide Help website, a project of Rainbow House Domestic Abuse Services in Marinette, provides resources to families and has tracked statewide domestic violence-related deaths, including perpetrator suicides, related officer-involved shootings and child deaths since 2016.
So far this year, 37 people have been memorialized on the website. If the troubling trends continue, Wisconsin could end the year with 107 deaths, far above the average 77, said Courtney Olson, Rainbow House’s executive director.
“People are isolated in their homes with their abusers who may have the capacity to limit their contact with the outside world,” she said. “We are seeing a severe drop-off in calls that are coming into agencies all across the state and I’m also seeing decreases in volume on our website.”
The National Domestic Violence Hotline also has seen calls remain flat. In the past, the hotline has seen a call volume spike after natural disasters, such as earthquakes, once life begins to return to normal and people felt safe enough to call for help, according to a news release from the organization.
From March 16 to April 26, nearly 4,500 survivors who called the national hotline cited COVID-19 as a condition of their experience.
One possible risk factor: Rising unemployment related to the pandemic.
“I think that’s having a significant impact, that as families are thrown into more desperate situations, the potential for conflict escalates,” Olson said.
High-risk team restarts to home visits during pandemic
Even during the pandemic, shelters have remained open. Hotlines continue to take calls. Restraining orders can still be filed.
And some services that were paused because of coronavirus concerns are restarting. In Milwaukee County, Sojourner advocates will begin home visits to clients deemed at high risk of homicide on May 25.
“We stopped home visits when COVID hit, and we’re resurrecting them now because of this concern over the homicide rate,” Pitre said. “It’s not going to be the magic answer, but it’s one answer.”
Home visits offer an opportunity to connect with victims in a different way, rather than an officer handing out a hotline number, said Michelle CoppensBunker, special projects manager at Sojourner and coordinator of the county’s High Risk Team.
“To see someone’s face and look them in the eye and say ‘I’m here and the only reason I’m here is to check and see how you’re doing’ — that is the big, clear message,” Coppens-Bunker said. “Nobody’s in trouble. No one’s getting arrested, that’s not why we’re here.”
The High Risk Team meets twice a week and brings together Sojourner staff, Milwaukee police officers, Milwaukee County prosecutors and other partners to review and intervene in cases that are screened in as higher risk for deadly violence.
The screening includes questions about an abuser’s prior use of weapons and access to guns, past instances of choking or strangulation, stalking, threats to a victim’s life and recent job loss.
Of the domestic violence-related homicides this year, only one had a reported domestic violence incident within the past year between the victim and suspect, Coppens-Bunker said.
“That doesn’t mean that there’s not other history,” she added.
And at least two homicide suspects this year had been on the High Risk Team’s radar — but with a different victim from the one they are now accused of killing.
“If you’re a high-risk offender and you move on to the next relationship, the risk in that new relationship is even higher than the one before,” CoppensBunker said.
The concept is known as “relational risk transfer” and the team is in the early stages of collecting data to better understand it.
Getting the word out
Advocates, community organizers and survivors in Milwaukee and across the state have said direct community outreach is critical to let women — and men — know about resources available to them.
But that has been challenging during a time of social distancing.
The city’s Office of Violence Prevention is brainstorming new ideas, such as providing brochures with resources to operators of large apartment complexes to give out to new renters. The office, which houses the 414LIFE violence interruption team, also recently led a community forum on addressing domestic violence.
“I don’t think we’re suffering from a lack of concern or awareness,” Moore said. “We have to definitely amplify the action, and that’s in the response and the prevention of domestic violence.”
The Office of Violence Prevention plans to continue town hall meetings about domestic violence and will launch a public awareness campaign next month to promote resources and encourage people to get involved.
“We want to create as many access points for support (as possible),” he said. “If we wait for people to walk in the doors of service providers and shelters, we may be waiting longer than we should as a community and longer than families can afford to.”
Milwaukee’s Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, which brings together dozens of local organizations and public agencies, will honor the lives lost and take up ideas for prevention campaigns at its meeting Thursday.
Other organizations in the state are posting flyers and information in grocery stores and pharmacies, Olson said.
“Agencies are just now really starting to realize the scope of what we’re dealing with,” she said. “We’ve been doing a lot on the statewide level in terms of calls and connecting with other agencies, and everyone is open. We’re all still here.”
Where to find help
The Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault will meet virtually at 9 a.m. Thursday. To listen to the meeting, call 312-6266799.
The Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee operates a 24-hour confidential hotline at 414-933-2722 and offers assistance with e-filing for restraining orders at 414-278-5079. The Milwaukee Women’s Center also offers a hotline at 414-671-6140.
The Asha Project, which serves African American women in Milwaukee, provides a crisis line from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 414-252-0075.
Diverse & Resilient, which serves the LGBTQ community, operates the “Room to Be Safe” resource line 414856-5428 and has online resources at roomtobesafe.org.
The Hmong American Women’s Association, which serves the Hmong and southeast Asian community, has advocates available at 414-930-9352 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The WI Hmong Family Strengthening Helpline is available after hours at 877-740-4292.
The UMOS Latina Resource Center in Milwaukee offers bilingual, bicultural, domestic violence, sexual assault and anti-human trafficking supportive services and operates a 24-hour hotline at 414-389-6510.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 800-7997233 or by texting LOVEIS to 22522.
Rainbow House Domestic Abuse Services in Marinette offers a crisis line at 715-735-6656 and text line at 906290-9081.
For a full list of domestic violence resources across the state, go to endabusewi.org/get-help.