If you or someone you know is being abused, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support and assistance. Domestic violence homicides were down 50% in San Diego County in 2023 as compared to the year before, according to the district attorney’s office. Five people were killed across the county by their intimate partners last year, marking a 30-year low, the DA’s office said. There were a total of 16,666 domestic violence calls to law enforcement in 2023, authorities said, and the DA’s office filed charges in 1,892 cases. Community leaders, advocates and survivors gathered at Balboa Park on Tuesday to honor the lives lost and highlight resources available in the first of several events commemorating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The event included a vigil with a candle lit for each of the five people killed in 2023: Denise Helen Orpinela, Kimberly Wynne Foster, Shantia Marie Brown, Melissa Romero Domingo Soto and Angela Marie Lanway. “Domestic violence is the number one destroyer of lives and family lives,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “It ends often in violence that is just irreversible, in homicides. And we’re fighting against it through tough prosecution and law enforcement, but also through prevention and protection.” Event organizers pointed to several resources available, including: The San Diego Family Justice Center, located at 707 Broadway downtown, phone: 619-533-6000 One Safe Place: the North County Family Justice Center, located at 1050 Los Vallecitos Boulevard in San Marcos, phone: 760-290-3690 “Leaving a violent situation is often very difficult for survivors of domestic violence, especially when you are in a relationship with someone and you live with them,” Amy Vance said. Vance lived through years of domestic violence before escaping to a shelter with her two children. She now advocates for other survivors. “Your finances are tied to them. You have children that depend usually on that person’s income,” she said. “It also is part of the psychological control that abusers have on their families. And getting away from that is not easy.” “But once you do, and you take that first step, and you reach out to a provider here in San Diego, you’re going to get the services and navigate all of the steps so that you can get back to living a life without violence,” Vance continued.