MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Domestic violence has ripped through families and communities too many times this year as our top leader issues an urgent plea to act. So far this year, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office has reported six homicides related to domestic violence. Memphis police reported another 30. The numbers were hard for Marquiepta Odom-Williams to hear. She's a domestic violence survivor and said it's hard to walk away. "When we when we think we are in love with someone, we begin to believe what they say. We lose our true identity," she said. Research shows it takes about seven attempts before a victim finally leaves their abuser. Sadly, the violence usually escalates after each attempt. Law enforcement responds to thousands of domestic violence related calls every year. Last year, 2,100 of them were aggravated assaults. Another 892 were reported this year as of mid-October, and 52% of those incidents involved guns. Studies state if there's access to a firearm, the increase of a domestic violence homicide jumps by 400%. "Guns have really become the weapon of choice," Memphis Shelby Crime Commission President Bill Gibbons said. "The plus is that we have developed a strategic plan to tackle domestic violence, and it's in the process of being implemented now." We got a copy of that strategic plan created by the University of Memphis Public Safety Institute, which Gibbons also leads. It calls for a rapid response team to focus on the most serious domestic violence cases. Also, they want to get more information to judges, judicial commissioners and prosecutors to help them determine proper bail. Every time an officer makes a domestic violence call, the victim is supposed to fill out a standardized assessment. Basically, it asks a number of questions to determine the victim's risk of being harmed or even killed by their abuser. "But that, unfortunately, is not getting into the hands of the judicial commissioners and judges consistently as it should," Gibbons said. The plan also seeks to implement more support in schools, distribute 1,000 Ring cameras to victims to increase their sense of security, and increase the number of emergency shelter beds. "If we implement the various parts of the plan and that's a big if, I think in five years we can see some very, very substantial progress," Gibbons said. "Of course, it takes funding." Odom-Williams' own story landed her on the path to help. She now heads the YWCA Greater Memphis, which operates the only 24-hour emergency domestic violence shelter in Shelby County. They currently have 78 beds. She would like to see 110. Despite the growing need for more, their funding is up in the air. They aren't a line item in the city or county budgets. She said some funding comes from city grants like the Safer Communities program. Grant money from the Memphis City Council was slashed to just under $4,000 this year. Then add the massive federal funding cuts they're anticipating the next fiscal year due to the way U.S. Congress set up the federal crime fund years ago, which helps domestic violence shelters, rape crisis and child advocacy centers across the country. "We're looking at a 45-50% cut next year," Odom-Williams said. "That's half of our staff, and there is no way that we can continue to operate as we do now. We would not be able to accept as many clients as we accept now, because we would not have the staff to be able to take care of them." She says she has talked with Mayor Paul Young and his administration about possibly getting a line item in the next fiscal budget for the YWCA, and there are pleas to the state to find more money to help. Uncertainty looms as we head into the new year as far too many close out 2024 with trauma and heartache. If you'd like to help the YWCA Greater Memphis click here.