ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Leaders with the City of Rochester and Monroe County spent Thursday afternoon raising awareness for resources for domestic violence survivors.

So far this year, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has reported 160 charges of domestic violence.  

Monroe County works with Willow Domestic Violence Center, and the Rochester Police Department to help victims out of dangerous situations.

The message on Thursday was, there’s no tolerance for domestic violence of any kind. And, to anyone who is struggling, there is help, and there is hope.

Normally, we see these kinds of news conferences during domestic violence awareness week, which is in October. But officials said once a year, is not enough.

In the city, Mayor Malik Evans said many homicides from the past year have been domestic violence related.

But, Meaghan De Chateauvieux, CEO for Willow said there has been progress towards ending abuse, restoring hope for thousands of families and saving lives.

She said Willow can help with housing, transportation, and support services for anyone who needs to escape a dangerous situation. She adds, Willow gets more than 12,000 hotline calls every year, which has increased over the past few years.

News10NBC asked Mayor Evans if there have been any news stories that sparked the news conference.

“This was three weeks ago, you had a mother who was stabbed by her partner, the daughter went and intervened, and she also was stabbed,” said Evans. “And thankfully, they survived, it didn’t look like that at the beginning when the chief called me. And when he called me, I said, ‘Chief, this is crazy, we got to keep getting the message out about that.'”

Evans was describing an incident that occurred on Mitchell Street on February 3, in which 34-year old Doyle Rucker was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault. The mother, a 34-year old, had to undergo surgery and spent time in the ICU. 

Evans said there have also been a lot of calls for menacings. 

“At Willow, all services are free and confidential,” said De Chateauvieux. “There’s no judgement, there’s no ‘shoulds’, we’re not going to tell you what to do, because we know that every journey is unique.”

If you or someone you know needs help, there is a 24/7 hotline you can call or text: (585) 222-7233.