DVAM Ceremony Highlights Hope and Calls for Increased Safety

FRANKFORT, KY– ZeroV, the state domestic violence coalition, held its annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month event in Frankfort today. Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman and Senator Julie Raque Adams joined ZeroV to help raise public awareness about the pervasive issue of intimate partner violence and honor those lost to intimate partner homicide over the last year. 

In fiscal year 2026, ZeroV’s coalition of domestic violence member programs provided more than 14,000 Kentucky adults and children with life-changing and life-saving domestic violence services. Those services included nearly 20,000 crisis calls and more than 150,000 emergency shelter bed nights. ZeroV CEO Tisha Pletcher emphasized that these statistics are more than just numbers.

“Behind every one of those numbers is a person. A parent trying to keep their children safe. A survivor looking for a place to begin again. A family searching for stability and a path forward,” said Pletcher. “While these numbers capture only a moment in time, they remind us of both how essential this work is and how much more there is to do.”

During the event, Lt. Gov. Coleman presented a gubernatorial proclamation declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“Domestic violence cuts to the core of our communities, touching families across every zip code, background, and walk of life,” said Lt. Gov. Coleman. “Today, we not only shine a light on the darkness of abuse, but we stand shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with survivors and advocates.”

As the state-designated domestic violence service providers for every region in Kentucky, ZeroV member programs work in collaboration with state and local systems to help individuals and families harmed by abuse find the refuge, stability, and hope they need to heal from violence inflicted by an intimate partner.  

“This ceremony is a chance to thank the advocates, shelter staff, law enforcement officers and volunteers who answer the call for survivors every day,” said Senator Julie Raque Adams. “As a state senator, I've seen firsthand how their work saves lives, and I've made it a priority to put survivors' safety at the center of our policies, from expanding address confidentiality protections to holding abusers accountable. I'm grateful to stand with them today.”

The event also included Speak My Name, a candle ceremony in honor and remembrance of the Kentuckians killed by a former or current intimate partner between September 1, 2025, and August 31, 2026. A total of 32 candles were placed as part of a memorial display, including 31 candles for known victims of intimate partner homicide and one for victims unknown. Of the named victims, 20 were killed with a gun.

“As we speak the names of these individuals, we must remember them not for the violence that took them from us, but for the richness of their lives and the imprint they leave on this world,” Pletcher said. “The smiles that warmed their parents’ hearts; the comfort their embrace provided to their children or grandchildren; the new perspective they offered to a fellow congregation member at church; the care and support they showed a coworker who was going through a hard time. In honor of their memory, we must do everything we can to support survivors and prevent intimate partner homicide.”

This year ZeroV is participating in the “With Survivors, Always,” campaign, demonstrating the powerful impact that working with, not for, survivors can have on the safety of themselves and their children and, more broadly, our Kentucky communities. High rates of domestic violence are not private, individual problems; they require community solutions. By acknowledging this reality, we can collectively work toward ending domestic violence and creating safe, healthy communities for everyone.

With events and activities throughout the month, ZeroV and its member programs seek to engage community members in an open dialogue about domestic violence, its underlying causes, and how to support survivors. We encourage everyone in the community to get involved and support the campaign during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

ZeroV invites Kentuckians to participate in DVAM this month by: 

For more information on the #WithSurvivors campaign and our Domestic Violence Awareness Month initiatives, please visit zerov.org/dvam.

Watch the recorded livestream of ZeroV’s DVAM event on Facebook.