Jefferson County commissioners proclaim October 2025 Domestic Violence Awareness Month

The Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners declared October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month during its Oct. 7 meeting, highlighting local services and training aimed at improving response to intimate-partner violence.

Commissioner Leslie Dahlkemper read the proclamation and Commissioner Zenzinger urged residents to learn warning signs of abuse, saying, "Signs of abuse include controlling behavior, isolation, verbal insults, financial control, or physical harm. Domestic violence thrives in silence." The board invited remarks from District Attorney Alexis King, Jefferson County Sheriff Marinelli and Paulo Diaz, CEO of the nonprofit Family Tree.

The proclamation and speakers emphasized both awareness and coordinated response. District Attorney Alexis King said the county has seen a slight increase in domestic violence numbers in the past year and praised recent multidisciplinary training: "We never silo ourselves, never saying no to the opportunity to learn more, and never underestimating the power of what happens when we work together." King described training that helped prosecutors, advocates and investigators identify homicides that initially presented as suicides.

Sheriff Marinelli described the sheriff's office response volume and gave a recent-year figure for calls and investigations, saying the office responded to approximately 1,622 domestic-violence incidents in 2024 and that investigations handled several hundred additional matters. Marinelli and other speakers described individual cases to illustrate the human impact and the role of victim advocates in connecting families to services.

Paulo Diaz, CEO of Family Tree, outlined the agency's local workload and services. He said Family Tree directed services to more than 6,400 people last year, including more than 2,000 children; answered more than 14,000 crisis-line calls; and that its domestic-violence programs served nearly 2,000 survivors and their children, providing almost 7,000 nights of shelter. "Domestic violence is a crime. What happens inside the home is not always a private issue, and it is a community issue," Diaz said, adding that Family Tree partners with Porchlight Family Justice Center and law enforcement to help survivors access protection orders, legal help and emergency resources.

The proclamation text read by the board said the month is intended "to honor the tremendous dedication of advocates and service providers, the courage and resilience of survivors and recommit ourselves to standing with them for safety, dignity and justice." The board invited representatives and the public for a photograph following the proclamation.

The statements at the meeting combined calls for awareness with examples of collaboration among the district attorney's office, the sheriff's office, Family Tree and Porchlight Family Justice Center. The proclamation does not commit county funds; speakers and staff described ongoing and recent training, service volumes and collaborations as part of the county's response work.

Speakers at the meeting encouraged residents to use the National Domestic Violence Hotline and local services and to support survivors and local organizations working on prevention and response.