California Today: A day at the National Domestic Violence Hotline

My colleague Emily Cochrane takes us behind the scenes of the hotline, which receives as many as 3,000 calls and messages a day.

View in browser|nytimes.com June 26, 2024 By Soumya Karlamangla It's Wednesday. Behind the scenes of the national hotline, which receives thousands of calls and messages a day. Plus, takeaways from Gov. Gavin Newsom's State of the State address. The National Domestic Violence Hotline receives as many as 3,000 calls and messages a day. Isadora Kosofsky for The New York Times In 1994, Congress approved the creation of a national hotline dedicated to domestic violence as part of the Violence Against Women Act, a landmark law intended to protect victims of domestic crimes and reduce the stigma associated with domestic abuse. Thirty years later, the National Domestic Violence Hotline receives as many as 3,000 calls and messages a day. But understaffed and underfunded, the hotline has resources to answer only about half of its calls and messages. My colleague Emily Cochrane recently published an incredible article on those who work at the hotline, including snippets of conversations between callers and staff members. She limits details about the callers to ensure their anonymity, but the excerpts paint a vivid picture of what compels people to seek help. "They call from work, to avoid being overheard, or from home before someone returns. They reach out because they have decided to leave or need to ask a stranger if they should," Emily writes. "To listen to the National Domestic Violence Hotline," she continues, "is to witness how a confluence of stressors — high prices, a lack of affordable housing, easy access to firearms and drugs, the ubiquity of technology — can leave a person vulnerable to another's cruelty and manipulation." The callers are typically women, from all over the country. As might be expected given the state's size, most callers are from California, and Los Angeles and San Diego were in the Top 10 cities last year, according to hotline data. The rise in calls to the hotline generally reflects an increased understanding of abuse and a willingness to confront it, as more people talk publicly about domestic violence and lawmakers enact bills to strengthen support for survivors. Calls often increase with certain public events, such as natural disasters or celebrities identifying as domestic abuse survivors, and hotline staff members told Emily that there had been recent spikes connected to major court rulings. For example, calls mentioning firearms rose 40 percent after an appeals court in New Orleans struck down a federal law last year blocking people subject to a domestic violence protection order from owning a gun. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. The Los Angeles City Council approved a ballot measure that would allow the police chief to fire officers for certain serious misconduct. Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News, via Getty Images The rest of the news Gov. Gavin Newsom used his annual State of the State address, which was prerecorded and posted on social media, to slam "conservatives and delusional California bashers" and defend "the California way of life." California's largest state employee union has for years been urging the state's prison health care system to end its relationship with a nonprofit that employs workers who have disabilities and are overcoming addiction. The system now faces a November deadline to end the contract, which could risk dozens of jobs, The Associated Press reports. Southern California The Los Angeles City Council approved a measure to appear on the November ballot that would allow the police chief to fire officers for certain serious misconduct, The Los Angeles Times reports. Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of the rap-rock band Crazy Town known for the hit song "Butterfly," died at his home in Los Angeles at 49. Central California Fresno's police chief has resigned after an investigation into his relationship with an officer's wife, The Fresno Bee reports. But officials said that he had not abused his power. Northern California A man who the authorities say deliberately drove his family off a cliff in Northern California last year will receive mental health treatment instead of standing trial. The autonomous vehicle company Waymo announced that its robotaxi service in San Francisco was open to everyone and no longer limited to people who've been approved off a waiting list, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. WHAT WE'RE EATING Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Sage and Walnut Pasta Nada By Dwight Garner 30 minutes Makes As many servings as you want A field of wildflowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in March. David Swanson/Reuters And before you go, some good news In his initial budget proposal for the upcoming year, Governor Newsom had proposed cutting a program that lets people check out state park passes at libraries. Since the program's inception, the Los Angeles County library system has lent out almost 10,000 passes. Fortunately for nature lovers, the program has been saved in the latest round of negotiations between the governor and legislative leaders, The LAist reports. Officials have pledged over $6 million to fund an additional year for the program. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword. Halina Bennet and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Need help? 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