July 15, 2025 | From City of New Orleans
City of New Orleans Health Department Releases 2024 AIR Program Report, Highlighting Urgent Needs and Paths Forward in Addressing Domestic Violence
Today, the New Orleans Health Department’s (NOHD) Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault program (DV/SA), in coordination with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), the New Orleans Family Justice Center (NOFJC), and the Orleans Parish Communications District (OPCD), released the 2024 Advocate Initiated Response (AIR) Program Data Report. This comprehensive report offers a data-driven assessment of the city’s current domestic violence response and highlights both the urgent challenges and practical steps that city agencies and partners can take together to better protect survivors, hold offenders accountable, and improve coordination across the system.
The report points out how domestic violence remains the most commonly reported violent crime in Orleans Parish and the number one reason New Orleanians call 911. Each year, thousands are affected—and on average, 14 people in New Orleans lose their lives to domestic violence-related fatalities. In response, the AIR Program was launched in 2022 and expanded citywide in January 2024 to connect survivors with trained, community-based advocates within 1–3 days of a DV-related 911 call.
Key Findings from the 2024 AIR Report
- In 2024, AIR received 11,633 DV-related incident reports from the New Orleans Police Department.
- 7,380 were domestic disturbances with no crime reported, indicating the opportunity to intervene in the conflict between families and intimate partners before an argument escalates.
- 4,253 were domestic violence crimes, with simple battery domestic incidents being the most common.
- Protective order violations were the second most common, highlighting the risk of repeat abuse and the ongoing need for protection and support.
- Of the 7,754 victims AIR attempted to contact, 45% (3,539) were successfully contacted and offered safety planning and resources.
- Only 2% of those contacted declined services, underscoring the demand for timely, trauma-informed support.
“Domestic violence doesn’t end when the police leave,” said Jennifer Hunt, Domestic Violence Projects Specialist of the New Orleans Health Department. “The AIR Program fills the critical gap between emergency response and long-term safety by ensuring survivors have someone to call, somewhere to turn, and a plan to stay safe.”
“Since its inception, the AIR Program has emerged as a crucial element of the NOFJC, with advocates making concerted efforts to engage with each victim or reporting person involved in domestic violence incidents or disturbances,” said Kevin L. Williams, Program Director of AIR.
“AIR seeks to empower individuals, communities, and organizations by integrating advocacy strategies with practical solutions, ensuring that voices are not only heard but lead to tangible, systemic change,” said Shakeya Reed-Green, AIR Triage Trainer.
While risk assessments are commonly used to inform safety planning sessions with victims, professionals also use them to predict the likelihood of abuse resulting in a fatality. Through the New Orleans Domestic Abuse Fatality Review (NODAFR), the Health Department has found key risk factors linked to domestic violence deaths in Orleans Parish. Although these factors do not necessarily cause fatalities, they play a role in many of these cases.
In 2024, the risk assessments completed by AIR Advocates identified many of the same risk factors found by the NODAFR. NOHD has used this information to guide its prevention efforts. One significant warning sign is strangulation. Research has shown that survivors of non-fatal strangulation are 7.5 times more likely to be killed by the same partner. Additionally, the presence of a firearm in a domestic violence situation makes a fatal outcome five times more likely. Furthermore, among the incidents reported in 2024, 72% of high-risk cases had a history of violence or disturbances, showing domestic violence tends to get worse over time.
To address this, the Health Department and partners have taken important steps. They created a new advocate role in the Criminal District Court to help victims navigate the court system and get protective orders faster. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services expanded civil legal help, assisting 250 victims of DV in 2024. The city launched a gun safety education program that’s distributed over 3,000 biometric gun safes to families in need. Agencies are also sharing data and working together more closely to identify and stop repeat offenders before violence gets worse.
The 2024 AIR Program Report provides a detailed overview of these issues, highlighting what is working and what still needs improvement. To learn more about how the New Orleans Health Department is addressing violence, visit the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program website.
Download the 2024 AIR Program Report
If you are in danger or experiencing abuse, help is available by calling the New Orleans Family Justice Center at (504) 866-9554 or contacting 9-1-1 in case of an emergency.