Family Services of Southern Wisconsin kicks of Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a rebrand of its shelter and services.

The non-profit runs the Beloit Domestic Violence Survivor Center, which officially changed its name to Defy Domestic Abuse this month.

Director of Survivor Empowerment Services Kelsey Hood-Christenson said the new name and branding better reflects the services they offer, which extend beyond the walls of their emergency shelter.

Over the past few years, her organization expanded to offer more case management, bilingual services, and legal advocacy.

The COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges for reaching and helping domestic violence survivors, and Hood-Christenson said calls to their hotline and shelter spiked when the federal moratorium on evictions temporarily ended in July and August.

Social distancing will force them to take their awareness events virtual this month, but Defy Domestic Abuse is still planning a remote Halloween event to commemorate the October campaign.