Police seeing increase in domestic violence calls in Waterbury

WATERBURY, CT (WFSB) - Waterbury police have been dealing with an uptick in domestic calls.

They are seeing more cases of domestic violence.

Advocates say you can take steps to prevent it.

To help others, the family of the city’s latest deadly domestic violence case spoke with Eyewitness News.

According to her daughter, Glenys Aloyo was the glue that kept their family together.

“She was all around a good person. whenever somebody at her job had a birthday she would always like, no questions asked, show up to work with a little cake and balloons just to celebrate. make everyone feel special,” said Danidsha Ayala, Glenys’s oldest daughter.

It’s why her death hit so hard.

Police say on March 5th, she was shot to death on Hill Street.

The suspect, her ex-boyfriend Omar Hernandez, shot himself a day later.

Danidsha Ayala says she didn’t know if he ever laid a hand on her mother.

But she now knows he threatened her a lot.

“She kept it from us ‘cause she just, she was always so happy, she didn’t want us to see her sad or see her down or see her struggling. So for her, it was just like, I’m trying to do the best for my daughters,” said Danidsha.

From January 1 to March 9, Waterbury police responded to 451 domestic calls.

Ten of them involved injuries.

Compare that to last year in the same time period, only 247 calls, only two with injuries.

Safe Haven, Waterbury’s only in-city domestic violence resource, has also seen an uptick for services.

“We had about, I think, 2,000 more calls for the past, during the past year.”

They provide the full spectrum, from counseling to emergency shelter.

Associate Director Margaret Rosa says victims should find help when they can, or trust loved ones.

“They can also look to a friend and reach out through the friend or family member as well,” Rosa said.

It’s something Danidsha wishes her mom did.

“For me, it still feels like, like a nightmare, like, we had her funeral and like I seen her, I just, even though I saw her and I know it’s her, it still hasn’t hit me like, my mom is gone,” she said.

Safe Haven:

General Phone Number: 203-575-0388

Sexual Assault Services Hotline: 203-753-3613

Domestic Violence Services Hotline: 203:575-0036

https://safehavengw.org/

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