NE -- October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Nebraska officials across the state are tackling prevention efforts in their own ways.

In Norfolk, a nonprofit is offering a yoga class meant to heal trauma victims.

"Yoga for Trauma Survivors is a way for people who went through abuse to step away from that for an hour and calmly sit and bring peace to yourself," Bright Horizons shelter advocate Kathryn Carlson said.

Psychotherapist Deb Milligan teaches the weekly yoga classes with Norfolk nonprofit Bright Horizons.

"Yoga is very healing. [...] The combinations of postures and breathing are a great way to calm down the psychological responses to trauma," Milligan said. They offer the class every Wednesday at United Methodist Church in Norfolk at 5:30 p.m. -- or also, through Zoom.

The organization is focusing this year's domestic violence awareness month on how prevalent the issue is.

"Everyone knows someone, but sometimes people are scared to talk about it," Carlson said. In fact, the CDC reports domestic violence affects one in seven men; and one in four women. That number grows even more narrow for some minorities.

Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition reports nearly 85% of Native Americans experience violence in their lifetime. That statistic has motivated Project Upstream director John Paul to create an art exhibit where people can wear a mask with survivor histories behind them.

"The root of this trauma and this cycle of violence dates back generations," said Paul. "Elder’s stories and tribal folk-parables make it clear that domestic violence was not tolerated in traditional native culture. Rather, it’s a relatively recent symptom of colonization—of identity eradication, abuse of power, displacement, and the use of drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Essentially this is both historic and contemporary trauma and fits into the adage that 'hurt people, hurt people'."

Ultimately, Paul believes the solution is education.

In the LGBTQ+ community, transgender youth are particularly susceptible to being victims of violence. However, Out Nebraska wants people to know that it isn't domestic abuse -- in intimate partners, rates are about the same.

"It is an issue that impacts the LGBTQ community, there are certain aspects of the way an abuser in an LGBTQ relationship may act different in terms of threatening to out them...but a lot of intimate violence is the same for same sex as it is for opposite couples," said executive director Abbi Swatsworth.

In Grand Island, nonprofits are creating a gallery walk to encourage discussion on the issue.

"It does happen in Grand Island, we're not immune to domestic or family violence. There's just such a stigma around domestic violence you don't want to ask for help," said YWCA programs coordinator Marissa Hernandez. She is collecting art for downtown Railside.