NEW ALBANY, Ind. — In New Albany, Indiana, Saturday, there was a call to action against domestic violence.
Families and local nonprofits held a fundraising event in memory of beloved mother and friend Brandee Douglass, and the countless others impacted by domestic violence every day.
Douglass was shot and killed in April of 2022 at a gas station. A Floyd County, Indiana, jury found her husband, Cherok Douglass, guilty for her murder and the killing of a bystander. This week, a judge sentenced Cherok to more than 200 years in prison, essentially life.
"It's a senseless act of violence. Just let that person leave, let them walk away," said Valentina Boyd, a survivor herself. "Sometimes, it's too late."
Boyd, now a friend of Brandee's mother, was one of several people outside the Hampton Inn in downtown New Albany Saturday night, collecting donations for early intervention and handing out pamphlets with resources listed.
As part of the event, the group led what they called a 'Drive 4 Healthy Homes,' a caravan of cars moving through prominent roads throughout New Albany -- with their hazard lights on and messages written on the windows.
One read, "Love is kind. If it is not kind, it is not love."
While the rain was a challenge, the weather wasn't stopping them.
"Now is better than never," said Michelle Morris, the director of sales at the Hampton Inn in downtown New Albany. "We have an opportunity to show people what it means to speak up early, before it's too late."
She offered up space inside and outside the hotel for the group to have a platform.
It almost was too late for Boyd, who described to WHAS 11 the moments on Sept. 18, 2021 when her ex-husband shot her in a city park.
"[It hit] me once in the back and once in the hip," Boyd said. "That day I was done, I was finished. I was walking away, and as I turned around to walk away was when he started shooting."
It's why Boyd is here, advocating for judges to do more when restraining orders are handed out.
"I believe that there needs to be tracking of that person, just like with home incarceration," she said.
And she's urging those who know something's wrong in their loved ones' relationships to exhaust every resource to get them help.
If you, or someone you know, is a victim of domestic violence, there is help available. You can reach the Center for Women and Families at their 24/7 hotline at 1-844-237-2331 or click here.
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