FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Early Wednesday morning, Frankfort Police arrested Stephen Rife on a murder charge. Rife is accused of shooting and killing his fiancée, Devin Ellis.
The news hit close to home for the city’s only domestic violence shelter.
“It’s awful. You wish you could help everybody. You wished everyone would reach out,” said Lisa Darby, board director of the Sunshine Center.
According to Darby, who’s worked with dozens of domestic violence survivors at this point, to leave an abusive relationship is easier said than done.
“If you don't have a job, you don't have money, you don't have a vehicle, you don't have a support system, it's really hard to get up and pack up your children and leave,” said Darby.
In Kentucky, 45.3% of women and 35.5% of men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner within their lifetime, according to the state’s domestic violence data report.
Additionally, according to a 2023 study from the University of Louisville, domestic violence offenses result in approximately 40 deaths in Kentucky annually.
“A lot of times it escalates before people know it's time to go,” said Darby.
When the stars align just enough for a victim to land at the Sunshine Center, there’s help and hope available.
“They need therapy, their children need therapy, a roof over their head, they need food, help getting jobs, daycare,” said Darby, rattling off some of the programming the Sunshine Center either offers itself or connects its victims to.
Oftentimes, the Sunshine Center is the last resort for victims, but every day it’s getting harder to provide those services.
“All of the grants we have had over the years are continually getting cut.”
It’s a story playing out nationwide as funding through the Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, declines due to smaller deposits at the federal level.
The decreased funding leaves services for sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence struggling to pay the bills.
In fact, the Sunshine Center recently sold its facility used for housing DV victims.
Thanks to other nonprofits and generous community partners, the shelter has been able to put up some victims in hotels as other arrangements are made in shelters outside of Frankfort.
“That's been how we can continue to help get people out and not have the expense of a building and utilities and case workers and things of that nature,” said Darby.
In a line of work that feels like swimming upstream, it’s the survivors keeping the shelter afloat.
“You can't turn your back, you can't not care about it. You are their only avenue.”
If you’d like to support the Sunshine Center, you can participate in its “Shop and Share” event on February 10 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Items purchased at either Kroger in Frankfort will support the shelter’s infant supply pantry.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, resources and 24/7 help can be found here: https://www.thehotline.org/
