Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield announced Wednesday at Detroit City Hall that Kyla Williams, a former Detroit Police Department sergeant who spent 26 years in the department's domestic violence unit, will serve as the mayor's specialist for domestic and intimate partner violence intervention and prevention. The appointment comes alongside a new executive directive aimed at protecting city employees who may be experiencing abuse at home.
A New Role Built From Decades on the Front Lines
According to the Detroit Free Press, Williams will work to address gaps between city services and the needs of residents who are victims of domestic violence. She also serves on the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, an appointment made by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and that board recommends policies touching domestic violence, criminal justice, child welfare and state and federal funding, per the same report.
Williams struck a direct tone about who can help beyond police. She said confidentiality programs and community-based organizations can provide assistance outside law enforcement, and she added that people experiencing domestic violence should not be judged and are not alone. “Domestic violence will not be ignored and survivors will not be forgotten,” Williams said, according to the report.
New Rules for City Employees
Sheffield's executive directive requires the Detroit Human Resources Department to develop a domestic violence employee action plan within 90 days, and executive and staff departments across the city must then implement that plan. Within 120 days, Detroit employees are set to receive information on domestic violence policies, leave options, benefits, employee assistance services, workplace support and additional resources, the Free Press reports.
City departments must also post domestic violence resources in visible and accessible workplace locations, and the city's Chief Operating Officer will distribute resource materials to residents, with Detroit city-owned buildings set to display the same materials. The city's Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety will collaborate with the Human Resources Department on citywide training and awareness efforts, the newspaper notes.
Sheffield said domestic violence can affect anyone and that support is available for people suffering from or in danger of it, per the same account. She said Detroit needs more access to spaces for people experiencing domestic violence and is considering funding or a mechanism to bring an additional domestic violence space to the city, though the report does not detail a timeline or specific funding source.
A Grim Backdrop Across the Region
The announcement follows a deadly stretch last year that put domestic violence back in the regional spotlight. In the final nine days of August 2025, three Metro Detroit women were shot and killed, according to ClickOnDetroit. Police said an ex-partner pulled the trigger in each case, and two of the three were murder-suicides, the station reported.
Domestic violence is widely underreported, yet it still makes up two-thirds of police calls, ClickOnDetroit's report states. Mayor Sheffield's office also pointed to local enforcement figures: the Detroit Police Department documented more than 5,000 domestic violence cases in 2025, which resulted in arrests about 50% of the time, and the department's domestic violence task force seized more than 200 firearms that year, all according to figures attributed to Teferi Brent in the Free Press report. Brent said serious intimate partner violence cases continued in 2026 to demand more action.
October Recognition and Where to Get Help
Sheffield plans to hold listening sessions and awareness campaigns across Detroit as part of the broader push, and the city will light the Spirit of Detroit purple throughout October in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. A statewide proclamation issued October 1, 2025, by Governor Whitmer's office noted that Black women and Black men experience disproportionately higher lifetime rates of intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence and stalking, citing figures of 45.1% and 40.1% respectively, according to Michigan.gov.
For residents seeking help now, the Detroit Police Department's Victim's Assistance Program operates a 24-hour hotline at 313-833-1660. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can also be reached at 1-800-799-7233. Detroit does have a domestic violence shelter for residents, though the mayor's comments suggest the city is weighing whether more capacity is needed.
