skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Judge pauses deadline for federal workers to accept Trump's resignation offer; CA state lawmakers take action to enact safeguards against federal immigration enforcement; Study shows air quality disparities from industrial ag in NC.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

KY domestic violence programs struggle to meet demand

play audio
Play

Thursday, October 5, 2023   

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and state data show in Kentucky, more than 45% and around 35% of men have experienced intimate partner violence.

According to the group ZeroV, in the past five years, its regional shelter programs have provided safe havens and resources for more than 10,000 women and 6,000 children.

Christy Burch, CEO of the Ion Center for Violence Prevention, one of ZeroV's member programs in Northeastern Kentucky, said her center is seeing more extreme violence cases, but federal Victims of Crime Act budget cuts have forced her staff to do more with less.

"It has really put a stressor on how we continue to maintain these basic needs of survivors, if I'm going from 36 staff, on this VOCA funding, to 14," Burch explained.

The federal fund collects millions of dollars from criminal cases and funnels the money into programs for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, but the amount of money coming into the fund has decreased over the past decade. Now, Congress is proposing further cuts, of up to 40%.

Burch pointed out centers rely on federal funding to provide direct services like crisis intervention, counseling and legal assistance to survivors.

"We've got two emergency shelters, we provide and respond to every hospital emergency room in our region," Burch outlined. "Folks who present with partner violence as well as sexual violence, because we're a dual-designated program."

Brittny O'Bryan, a domestic violence survivor and Graves County resident, said she when brought her kids to a shelter, Merryman House and ZeroV's Housing Program helped her forge a new, independent life.

"They helped me with housing, they put me in an apartment and I lived there for two years," O'Bryan recounted. "It was based off my income, so I was able to steadily pay the bills and get up on my feet."

Gov. Andy Beshear will sign a proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Frankfort on Oct. 18. In recent years, the state has announced millions of dollars in additional grant funding to help reduce the effects of federal cuts.

Disclosure: ZeroV contributes to our fund for reporting on Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault, Gun Violence Prevention, Housing/Homelessness, and Women's Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, Mississippi has the highest rates of food insecurity in the nation. (Katerina Holmes/Pexels)

Social Issues

play sound

Mississippi families struggling with food insecurity are bracing for another difficult summer after state officials declined millions in federal fundi…


Environment

play sound

Some experts predict arable land per person will shrink by two-thirds by 2050. To combat it, Michigan students are being trained in "smart" …

Environment

play sound

A new study by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality found nitrate levels have continued to rise across the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater …


Currently, insurance companies get to decide how much of a public ambulance service's rate to pay, which can lead to patients being charged the unpaid balance. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado lawmakers are working to ensure all Coloradans with health coverage for ambulance services are not hit with surprise bills or charged higher …

Environment

play sound

Conservation groups in Maine are calling on the state's congressional delegation to protect federal funding for clean energy technologies. A new …

Osprey, bluefish, red drum and cobia rely on menhaden populations for food. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

Atlantic menhaden weigh less than a pound and measure little more than a foot long but the small fish has big consequences for the Chesapeake Bay ecos…

Social Issues

play sound

Gov. Kay Ivey delivered her 2025 State of the State address this week, focusing on education, public safety, and economic growth in Alabama. She …

Social Issues

play sound

In rural states such as South and North Dakota and large urban centers around the U.S., protests were held Wednesday amid fears about the first wave …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021