Editor’s note: WUFT is identifying S.S. by her initials to protect her privacy and safety.
S.S. writes poetry and says putting pen to paper offers her much needed peace.
“Sometimes, that’s all I have is my writing,” she said. “That’s my only escape.”
For this Gainesville mother of five, her poetry offers a distraction from raising a family alone while balancing work, school — and recovering from domestic violence.
S.S. left an abusive relationship two years ago with a broken leg and children who need her love and support. She connected with Peaceful Paths, a domestic violence network that serves Alachua, Bradford and Union Counties. Peaceful Paths provided emergency shelter as she recovered from her injury, and then helped her find an apartment through a housing program.
More than one in three women and one in six men have experienced sexual violence, physical violence and/or or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetimes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Challenges for these survivors can extend beyond merely ending an abusive relationship. Finding housing, securing food and accessing support can make rebuilding an independent life difficult, according to local service providers.
In May, Gainesville announced an expanded community safety strategy focused on preventing domestic violence, dating violence and sexual violence.
At a city commission meeting that month, Gainesville Police Chief Nelson Moya said the number of ongoing domestic and dating violence concerned him. Moya said then that GPD planned to put three detectives back on its special victims squad, including one dedicated to domestic violence, to bring added focus to the issue and to work closely with the service providers to look for gaps in support and ways to make improvements.
According to GPD, from January through September, 911 records show 758 calls classified as domestic battery, up about 14% from 666 during the same period in 2025. There were 685 such calls during those months in 2024.
Calls classified as domestic disturbance increased about 3%, from 1,101 in 2025 to 1,130 in 2026, but remained below the 1,330 recorded in 2024, GPD stated.
The figures reflect call classifications, not confirmed incidents of domestic violence. The totals cover months before and after Gainesville announced its expanded safety strategy in May, and they do not yet establish whether the initiative has reduced violence, according to GPD.
The specially assigned detective began working in the domestic violence position in May, said GPD spokesperson Art Forgey. Public education efforts also began then and have continued through tabling events, group events, social media and educational events, Forgey said.
Brandi Corbin, Peaceful Paths’ chief operating officer, said what she called GPD’s “renewed sense of focusing” on domestic violence “very positive.”
Corbin, who has worked for the organization since 1997, said Peaceful Paths is providing two hours of domestic-violence training for new GPD officers. Advocates who work directly with survivors also meet with officers during shift changes to discuss services and best practices, while ongoing workgroup meetings allow providers to share concerns they hear from survivors.
“That training and the real conversations have been the change that we have seen,” Corbin said.
She also said that intervention after abuse occurs can help prevent further violence or a deadly escalation. Officers ask survivors a series of questions to assess their risk of serious harm or death and offer to connect them with a Peaceful Paths advocate, Corbin said.
This process, known as a lethality assessment, helps guide police interventions, Forgey said, and Corbin said the practice predates the May announcement.
S.S. said her concerns about her criminal record partly influenced her decision to not contact law enforcement before, about her domestic violence situation. It was a friend who helped her connect with Peaceful Paths.
“They’re already in a traumatic situation, and they don’t need further judgment,” she said when asked what she wanted from officers responding to survivors.
For survivors seeking safety, the challenges can extend beyond the immediate police response. Leigh Scott, who works with families experiencing homelessness at Family Promise of Gainesville, said financial pressures can make leaving an abusive relationship difficult.
“A lot of the folks that we see come through here feel like they can't do it on one income, so they stay in very toxic abusive relationships,” Scott said.
Survivors may need housing, food, mental health care and new employment alongside help managing the immediate crisis, Scott said.
“It’s not just that you need one thing,” he said. “It’s that you need everything.”
Peaceful Paths CEO Crystal Sorrow said funding sustains that support. County funding anchors the organization’s children’s services and counseling sessions at no cost to survivors.
Scott and Sorrow both said they fear what the impact on their programs could be voters adopt Amendment 3 to Florida’s Constitution that is on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Amendment 3 would significantly reduce Alachua County’s property‑tax revenue, and the county’s general fund is what pays for the very services survivors rely on most — emergency response, victim support programs, shelters, legal aid, and social‑service infrastructure.
“Nonprofits are already like on shoestring budgets, and so any cuts to any of this stuff affects all of us,” Scott said.
S.S. said she also fears the impact on her and her family if the amendment passes.
She is pursuing an associate degree with the goal of becoming a social worker, hoping to offer others the understanding she has needed herself.
“Hopefully, I can be one of the people in the community, you know, making a difference one day soon,” S.S. said.