Bernard Reynolds · November 2, 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, and two other people 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 people died in a shooting at a home in Douglas. Police have named no motive. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that the gunman, John Fabrizio, 64, killed his wife of 33 years, Rachel, 64; their sons James, 28, and William, 26; and James's girlfriend, Rosaida Figueroa Berrios, 26, before killing himself. Rachel Fabrizio had filed for divorce a month earlier, on September 9, and the paper describes the case as the second domestic shooting in Douglas in recent months. Mayor Tony Paulk said, "Awareness alone is not enough."
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it is a good time to look at how Georgia pays for the shelters and crisis lines that people in danger call first.
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 combined. Gov. Kemp signed the budget on May 12. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute 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. The Institute counted $344 million in disregards and vetoes across 157 actions.
The governor's office has said the cuts applied only to new spending after the income tax package created a shortfall of about $1.3 billion, and that the state allocated more than $39 million in federal pandemic relief funds to these organizations over several years. That is the administration's position, and it belongs in the record. Shelters say it has not closed the gap.
Valdosta. On October 22, Michelle Gertman, who has led The Haven for 30 years, told WALB that the Valdosta shelter is at 108% of capacity and has placed 288 women and children in hotels, which she called a safety and staffing problem. She said the average cost is $283 per bed night, that the state pays for only one of the three full-time legal advocates at each of the Valdosta and Waycross offices, and that the agency will cut jobs if the $9.4 million is not restored. Shelters across Georgia need about $16 million in the coming budget year to run 47 shelters serving 159 counties, she said.
Savannah. On October 13, WTOC reported that SAFE Shelter, Georgia's second-largest emergency domestic violence shelter at 48 beds, has been at 90% to full capacity for more than a year, and has paused a partner program run through the YMCA. Federal Victims of Crime Act awards in Georgia are down more than 60%. The continuation application that shelters had to submit by October 30 does not allow them to ask for more money. SAFE Shelter's chief executive called the structure "a creative way of trying to control the loss of the VOCA funding." Mary's Place Sexual Assault Center, which served more than 700 survivors last year, said federal money largely pays for its counselors and legal advocates.
Augusta. SafeHomes Augusta, the area's only 24-hour shelter, told WRDW in July that it costs about $1 million a year to operate a shelter that meets state standards and that it receives $647,000, a gap of roughly $350,000.
Thomasville. On October 28, the city announced a $1 million Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Community Affairs to help build a new Halcyon Home shelter serving Thomas, Grady, Decatur, Mitchell, and Seminole counties. Construction money is welcome. The open question for the 2027 session is who pays for the staff and beds once the building is open.
The Georgia Commission on Family Violence counted 163 Georgians who died in domestic violence-related incidents in 2025. Karimah Dillard, policy director at the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, has said that 40% to 50% of domestic violence fatalities involve murder-suicide.
One clarification on figures: a $7 million number has been circulating. The only $7 million in the recent reporting is a further federal cut that Ms. Gertman said is expected, which is separate from the state money. The state items the governor disregarded are the $9.4 million for shelters and $3.3 million for sexual assault centers.
Polls open tomorrow for the election that will choose the next governor, Republican Rick Jackson or Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, and the General Assembly convenes on January 11. I have not found a public statement from either campaign on restoring shelter funding. Organizations that serve survivors should not wait for one.
Organizations that serve survivors should put these 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 · AJC, Douglas shooting · WSB-TV, Douglas victims identified · WALB, The Haven warns of cuts · WTOC, Savannah VOCA cuts · WRDW, SafeHomes Augusta · WALB, Thomasville grant · CBS News Atlanta, advocates urge restoration · Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, FY 2027 disregards
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