Kentucky Domestic Violence Association

Community awareness of the pervasiveness and severity of domestic violence in Kentucky heightened in the late 1970s. The YWCA in Louisville opened Kentuckys first spouse abuse shelter in 1977. By 1980 there were six shelter programs serving battered women and their children in Kentucky. The Kentucky Domestic Violence Association was founded in 1981 by the staff of the six existing programs as a statewide coalition whose membership was to include all domestic violence programs in Kentucky. Its purpose was to provide mutual support, information, resource sharing and technical assistance; to coordinate services; and to collectively advocate for battered women and their children on statewide issues. An early goal of the coalition was to work with the Department for Social Services to ensure that domestic violence services were available across the state. Kentucky is divided into fifteen, multi-county Area Development Districts (ADDs). These districts are used for planning and serv...