High abuse numbers continue in Arizona

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - According to Amberly’s Place, for the third month in a row, cases continued to climb over 300.

In the month of October, Amberly's Place added over 250 new victims and they are not the only ones noticing the massive abuse.

Gabriella Sanchez is a supervisor and lead advocate for the Catholic Community Services Safehouse.

Sanchez has seen an increase in the number of abuse cases over the past year.

“Not just October but this year we’ve seen so many hotline calls to our shelter that we can’t even provide housing or immediate if they’re in danger because we have so many,” said Sanchez.

So far this year, there have been over 2,600 cases, over half of which are related to domestic violence.

Tori Bourguignon, Executive Director at Amberly's Place said with the increasing numbers comes more violence.

“That stands out maybe more than the numbers is the level of violence that… that has been inflicted upon some of the victims that we’ve been seeing lots and lots of strangulation cases lots and lots of really really violent assaults,” said Bourguignon.

However, with so many victims, there are still those trying to help.

Mohawk Valley School collected donations of food and clothing from community members and school families from Tacna, Roll, and Wellton after students took a tour of Amberly’s Place the previous year.

Members of their student council then delivered the donations to Amberly’s Place on Wednesday.

“It resonated with a lot of the kids emotionally and we had a long talk about it later and I think it’s good for them to experience this and understand there are places out there that can help when someone is in need,” said Jennifer Puga, a Mohawk Valley School Paraprofessional and Student Council Sponsor.

Amberly's Place would like to ask if you or anyone you know is dealing with abuse, please reach out for help.