Content Warning: This article discusses domestic violence. If you are in distress and need someone to talk to, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The National Domestic Violence Hotline received nearly $17 million in federal funding, according to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.
The hotline, which is based in Austin, continues to serve as 24-hour, seven-day-a-week support for victims of domestic violence, per a news release from Doggett’s office.
“For many survivors and victims, the hotline is the first call they make when seeking safety, guidance, and/or immediate services for an abusive situation. Last year, in Texas alone, more than 26,000 people relied on these services, which often help fill the gap when local programs are overburdened and resources are stretched thin,” Doggett said in the release.
The support line has delivered services, like crisis intervention, safety planning, advocacy, education and more since 1996. According to Doggett’s office, it answered “444,178 contacts, with more than 2,000 calls, chats, and texts received each day. More than double the rate of just a few years ago.”
The Texas Council on Family Violence, or TCFV, released a report last week revealing that 161 Texans died from intimate partner violence in 2024. It also states that 104 children lost a parent from that violence.
Doggett said the data and reporting from these numbers “are critical as Congress works in a bipartisan manner to better understand the impacts of domestic violence on Americans and the resources needed to serve millions of survivors across the country in their time of need.”
Go to the hotline website for more information or to connect with a live advocate.
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