Houston council members stood with advocates and law enforcement officials to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month and celebrate 45 years of Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA) at City Hall this month.
With the celebration came sobering reminders of the city’s ongoing struggle with domestic violence, a crisis that continues to claim dozens of lives each year across Harris County.
“Violent crime is trending down,” council member Abbie Kamin said. “But when a third of homicides in the county have a nexus with domestic violence, we need to be doing a hell of a lot more.”
A “shadow pandemic” that hasn’t ended
Kamin recalled the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when stay-at-home orders left many victims trapped with their abusers, and shelter shortages reached a critical point.
“Domestic violence skyrocketed,” Kamin said. “By the end of August ‘21, Houston saw a 78% increase in domestic violence-related homicides, and we did everything we could to meet the challenge head-on. We expanded HPD’s Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART).”
Although the lockdowns are long over, the aftershocks remain.
Reporting of abuse has declined, not because violence has lessened, officials said, but because victims are often too afraid or isolated to come forward.
Law enforcement data confirms the scope: The Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded to 67 murders between January and August 2025, with nearly one-third (23) connected to domestic violence.
A legacy of advocacy: 45 years of AVDA
For 45 years, AVDA has provided a lifeline to families in crisis. Founded by the National Council of Jewish Women, the organization began in a converted broom closet donated by the Gulf Coast Legal Foundation, offering free legal aid to women suffering from domestic abuse. Today, AVDA operates two satellite offices and a downtown headquarters, serving both urban and rural families.
“From those modest beginnings, AVDA has grown into a thriving nonprofit,” said AVDA CEO Maisha Colter. “We hold those who are abusive accountable through battering intervention and prevention programming, reach adults and youth through our community awareness and prevention program, and offer healing through our trauma counseling program, helping survivors and their children rebuild from the emotional wounds of abuse.”
In 2024 alone, the organization provided legal representation to 6,946 adults and children and educated more than 26,000 youth and adults on domestic violence prevention, providing 1,043 people identified as abusive with the Battering Intervention & Prevention Program (BIPP).
Justice and prevention: A community-wide approach
Law enforcement agencies also emphasized the importance of collaboration.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office stated its homicide unit responded to 67 murders, 23 of which were related to domestic violence. It also reviewed more than 6,200 domestic violence cases this year, leading to over 200 criminal charges.
HPD Assistant Chief Jessica Anderson added that the department’s DART program continues to deploy trained advocates to assist victims on the scene, a model that other cities have begun to study.
Unlike victims of other crimes, not everyone in a domestic violence situation may recognize or be in a position to call for help. If you believe someone in your life is affected by domestic violence, talk to them away from their abuser,” Anderson said. “Law enforcement can only do so much. We are grateful for the public and our partners who recognize that this is a community problem and requires a community solution.”
Awareness through visibility: A statewide billboard campaign
To extend that community effort beyond City Hall, Clear Channel Outdoor partnered with AVDA and the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) to launch a new billboard campaign across the state. The digital and print billboards, displayed in English and Spanish, direct victims to local resources for legal, housing, and counseling assistance.
“The campaign seeks out victims to offer help,” said Lee Vela, vice president of public affairs at Clear Channel Outdoor. “We could reach over 100 Texas cities, it’ll be up on up to 56 digital billboards throughout the suburban areas. That offers us more flexibility in getting these messages out to the public.”
The campaign builds on a 2024 statewide initiative, “I’m OK. Are You OK?” developed in partnership with the TCFV. Within 30 days of launching last October, website traffic from the campaign increased 1,200%, according to council member Twila Carter, who leads the effort’s expansion into Harris County.
The human cost
According to TCFV’s Honoring Texas Victims report, 161 Texans were killed by their intimate partners in 2024, including 137 women and 24 men. The report also found that 69% of victims were killed at home, and more victims were killed with a firearm than with all other means combined. In Harris County alone, 47 victims lost their lives, more than any other county in the state.
“Every survivor’s journey reminds us why AVDA exists,” Colter said. “We represent survivors in legal procedures in family court, hold those who are abusive accountable, reach adults and youth through our community awareness and prevention program, and offer healing through our trauma counseling program, helping survivors and their children rebuild from the emotional wounds of abuse.”
For anyone experiencing domestic violence, help is available through AVDA’s 24-hour hotline at 713-224-9911 and the Houston Area Women’s Center at 713-528-6798.
