Abuse hotlines light up after region’s move to green phase

With the region’s move to a lessrestrictive green phase, calls to domestic violence help centers and support groups have — as predicted — seen a sharp increase.

“With closures and stay-at-home orders, there was a steep decline in the number of hotline calls we received,” said Jeremy Armstrong, the development and outreach coordinator at Crisis Center North.

The lack of calls seeking help didn’t reflect a drop in domestic violence, as emergency calls to Pittsburgh police increased soon after stay-at-home orders were issued in March. Police said calls related to domestic violence rose 20% and calls related specifically to verbal domestic incidents increased 30%.

Now, with restrictions being lifted, calls to shelters are mirroring the increases reported by police.

Advocates for victims of domestic abuse have said the social restrictions — put into place by Gov. Tom Wolf to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 — forced victims to spend even more time with their abusers. Now that restrictions are eased, victims may have more freedom to call for help.

Agencies saw a bump in calls when Allegheny County first moved into the yellow phase on May 15.

Crisis Center North said the number of calls received in May — 160 — was double the calls from March — 80.

Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania, which serves Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, is reporting that it has received double the amount of calls from January to the end of May of this year, compared to 2019.

With the move to the green phase, the volume of calls is

expected to increase again.

“Our counseling department is expecting an onslaught of calls in the next couple of weeks,” said Hilary O’Toole, the assistant director at Crisis Center North. “We want to be ready, and we want to be there to help.”

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence says partner violence tends to spike immediately after natural disasters and when families are together for long periods of time, like holidays. The pandemic has had the same impact.

“We know that when there is added stress in a household the abuse can get worse,” Ms. O’Toole said. “Victims can’t get away. Maybe their only respite was to get out and call a friend, but since the abuser is in the home with them at the same time, they can’t find an opportunity to have time to themselves.”

With abusers and victims constantly being in the same living space, it becomes difficult for victims to reach out to family, friends or support centers.

The Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh tried to combat that issue by implementing a text and online chat feature.

“We figured we needed more ways people could reach out, especially if they are at home with their abuser and can’t call,” CEO Nicole Molinaro said.

The features were originally scheduled to be released in the fall, but with the arrival of the pandemic, the center decided sooner would be better.

Ms. Molinaro said the center saw a 40% decline in hotline calls initially but has received a steady stream of messages from the new platforms since their implementation. From March 15 to the first week of June, the center has been able to serve 603 new clients and 1,600 people overall.

In addition to these new features other modifications had to be put into place to continue to help victims during the pandemic.

The Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh continued to offer its full set of services — including legal and medical advocacy and support groups — in one-onone settings or online.

The only exception is its emergency shelter — which has been operating as normal

— under the new guidelines set by the CDC to ensure proper physical distancing and cleaning of high touch areas.

A group session for people who feel they might be abusers will be done by phone rather than in person.

Crisis Center North also had begun using telehealth and Zoom to conduct their various counseling sessions.

“Although it has been different and we haven’t been able to reach some clients, it’s had a lot of really wonderful upsides to it,” said Ms. Molinaro.

Some of the clients told Ms. Molinaro that it has actually been easier for them to attend the meetings virtually rather than in person.

When victims schedule a meeting, the hotline operator will discuss which options will be the safest and most helpful.

Although domestic violence centers have seen an increase in calls, from March 8 through June 12, Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services Office of Children, Youth and Families saw a 34% decrease in calls reporting suspected child abuse compared to Dec. 2 through March 7.

CYF says this was expected as 70% to 80% of calls come from mandated reporters — with children home from schools and other programs, their interactions with these reporters is significantly limited.

As the domestic violence centers saw an increase in calls as the region opened up, it is expected that reports of child abuse also will rise, as children attend various summer activities where mandated reporters may be present.