The Board formally proclaimed October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in DeKalb County, citing statewide and local statistics and recognizing service providers and partner agencies for prevention and victim support.

Presiding Officer Michelle Long Spears read a proclamation noting national and state numbers and the county’s coordinated justice-system response. The proclamation cited Georgia reporting more than 42,000 incidents of family violence in 2024 and noted 163 domestic-violence deaths statewide in 2023—15 reported in DeKalb County per the proclamation text.

Jean Douglas, executive director of the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence (WRC), addressed the board and said the center will mark its 40th anniversary next year and that the program has served more than 100,000 victims since 1986. Douglas said updated fatality numbers received the previous week put the county’s fatalities at 19—higher than the 15 figure read in the proclamation—and described long-standing partnerships with the district attorney’s office, the solicitor general and county commissioners.

The board recognized partner agencies and encouraged residents to attend the WRC’s annual candlelight vigil on Oct. 16. The clerk read the proclamation into the record and the board presented the formal document to WRC representatives.