Stephanie Nilva spoke to NY1 about supporting survivors during COVID-19. Watch her interview here, or read an excerpt below.
“Organizations like Day One, which provides emergency assistance to young victims of domestic violence, have seen a surge of people reaching out for help since the city entered Phase One of its reopening 10 days ago.
What You Need To Know:
Reports of domestic violence statewide jumped 30 percent in April, as the number of people staying at home because of the virus surged.
But Stephanie Nilva, the executive director of Day One says that number is just the tip of the iceberg. Because the data is reliant on police reports, many incidents could be going unreported.
Young people from the ages of 16 to 24 suffer the highest rates of domestic violence nationally.
Executive Director Stephanie Nilva says helping all victims in need during the pandemic has been difficult.
‘No matter how good our outreach is, we know that there are survivors that are unable to reach out for help that we cannot get to with information and that are isolated in a household, their devices may be being monitored. They do not get to spend time alone,’ said Nilva.”