MOULTRIE, Ga. – For many of us, self-isolating and quarantining has given us a chance to reconnect with ourselves, learn a new skill or even connect with others through phone calls and video chat. 

It’s a strange and stressful time, but many of us are safe and sound. For others, however, it’s become something of a nightmare.

Domestic violence case rates are predicted to rise to 31 million globally during the rest of the length of the projected COVID-19 pandemic, according to the United Nations Population Fund. Restricted movement and high stress levels are two elements of the recent rise in calls for help and while general violent crime such as assault, rape and murder have lowered, domestic violence cases continue to rise.

Serenity House, Colquitt County’s domestic violence shelter, and Hero House, the county’s Child Advocacy Center, are two large players in the fight to end domestic violence and provide assistance to victims, working year-round to save lives.  

Serenity House, the refuge for domestic abuse survivors, has seen a significant increase in cases during the pandemic.

“During the Stay at Home order, we didn’t see any cases,” Serenity House shelter manager Melissa Sparks said, “but as soon as everything was lifted, we received a huge influx of calls and cases. It made our job so much harder. 

“In May, we had 19 crisis calls. That’s just people seeking shelter, which is a huge number,” Sparks said. “Normally, some months you get 10 or 11 calls, but this is a big rise. During the pandemic we were at half capacity; now that people have started to come out, we’re completely full. 

“This morning I’ve already had two since I came to the office at 8 a.m.,” she said Wednesday. “It’s getting very heavy. Just in June, we’ve had four or five calls and the month has just started. As things have broken up, it’s gotten worse. My May calls started in the middle of the month around the 15th and 16th. And it’s not just us. We can’t hold so many people, so we’ve been advocated for other shelters and hotels. Every shelter is full.”

Sparks said Serenity House has benefited from law enforcement and community support.

“We are very fortunate for our sheriff and chief of police who have helped out in every way that they could and taken matters of domestic abuse very seriously. We’ve been blessed with a good community too, and they’ve always been so supportive. We thank them very much,” said Sparks.

Meanwhile, Hero House, which helps investigate child abuse allegations, has seen a significant decrease in cases, but that is not necessarily a good thing.

“We do forensic interviews for children who have been abused or neglected,” Executive Director Regina Dismuke said. “During the month of May, in 2018, we did 19 forensic interviews. In May 2019, we did 25, and in May of 2020 we’ve only done 4. I think the numbers are so low because it’s not being reported. …

“Things have been different,” Dismuke said. “With the children out of school, and a lot of the time with the doctors appointments being virtual and people not seeing the children in an environment where they see the child in person, it’s become harder to look for the signs. We’ve seen a decrease. It’s across the board, even in Albany they are seeing less cases too.

“The Department of Child and Family Services have been doing virtual meetings, and court systems are opening back up, and that may result in an increase in case numbers. We’re expecting to see a lot of reports being made once the children are back in school and in different environments. We think that once they start seeing each other again in school, they’ll start talking to each other and seeing things. The numbers will go up then,” she said.