Bernard Reynolds · October 10, 2026
On the night of October 3, police in Donalsonville, in rural Seminole County, responded to a 911 call about a domestic incident. They found Melissa Williams, 42, dead of an apparent gunshot wound. Two other people were wounded. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating what it describes as a reported domestic violence case, and on October 6 it obtained a warrant charging her husband with felony murder and other counts. He is presumed innocent until a court decides otherwise.
Six days later, five members of one family died in an apparent murder-suicide in Douglas. Police have not said whether domestic violence was involved, and the investigation is active. The city manager said it was the second murder-suicide in Douglas in about three months, and city officials noted that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
October is the month Georgia is reminded that the first calls people in danger make are to shelters and crisis lines. This is a good time to examine how the state pays for them.
In April, the General Assembly passed the fiscal year 2027 budget with added money for victim services: $9.4 million for domestic violence shelters and $3.3 million for sexual assault centers, about $13 million for domestic violence, sexual assault, and child advocacy programs in all. Gov. Kemp signed the budget on May 12. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute's tally lists both items among the "disregards," a tool that works like a line-item veto: the governor withholds the appropriation, and the agency does not spend it. In all, the Institute counted $344 million in disregards and vetoes across 157 actions.
The governor's stated reason is that the income tax package passed earlier this year created a shortfall of about $1.3 billion, and he targeted new spending rather than existing programs. His office has also said it allocated more than $39 million in federal pandemic relief (ARPA) funds to these organizations across several years. Those points belong in the record. They do not change the practical result for programs that had planned around the appropriation.
The Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence represents more than 50 programs. Georgia-certified agencies answered 110,001 crisis calls in 2024, and reported domestic violence incidents rose 12% from 2023 to 2024. Federal Crime Victims Fund support, which many programs rely on, has fallen by more than 70% since 2018.
The Haven in Valdosta has 24 beds and serves nine south Georgia counties. Its director says the beds are almost never enough, that it already houses women in hotels, and that it is about $300,000 short of sustaining current operations. State staffing standards mean that layoffs could put the program out of compliance. One shelter in southwest Georgia serves 18 rural counties, so a reduction there is a gap in coverage for entire communities.
The budget the legislature passed took effect July 1, so the first practical opportunity to act is the amended fiscal year 2027 budget in the opening weeks of the January 11 session. Three decisions follow.
Rep. Bill Hitchens, the budget subcommittee chair who supported the added funding, has said the November election could change funding priorities. Organizations that serve survivors should put their asks in front of the governor-elect's transition team and the new members of the Appropriations committees before the session begins, and should include the legislators who represent the counties their shelters serve.
If you or someone you know is in danger, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available at 1-800-799-7233.
Bernard Reynolds is the principal of True North Strategies, a Georgia public affairs firm.
Sources: WCTV, Donalsonville shooting and arrest warrant · Hazlehurst Now, Douglas police report · Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, FY 2027 disregards · WABE, programs brace for the worst · Valdosta Daily Times, The Haven · CBS News Atlanta, advocates urge restoration · Atlanta News First, disregards backlash
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