Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, My Sisterâs Place domestic violence shelter is routinely full, leaving parents and children trying to escape family violence with nowhere to go. In 2020, we turned away 155 adults and 112 children, largely due to COVID compounding an already urgent need for domestic violence services. We are grateful for the support we have received locally, from the Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Board, the Athens County Foundation, the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, and others. Without them, these numbers would undoubtedly be much higher. But in this most critical of times, My Sisterâs Place was forced to make staffing and program reductions. We cut our court advocateâs hours in half and the hours of our childrenâs counselor by 25 percent. We discontinued many therapy offerings, and significantly reduced training options for staff.