 With forward pay from Appalachian Wireless, you'll avoid contracts and credit checks while taking advantage of some awesome perks, like unlimited talk, text and 3 gigs of data for just $44.99, or with 5 gigs for a mere $59.99. Forward pay, that's today's Appalachian Wireless. The third annual Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Conference was held today on the campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College. The event is a partnership between Appalred and the Big Sandy Council on Elder Maltreatment. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and presenters try to educate as many people as possible. This is October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so we try to hold the conference during October every year and it's an opportunity to educate as many people as we can about issues related to domestic violence and elder abuse. One of the biggest changes to affect Kentucky recently was the passage of a bill to protect victims of dating violence, sexual assault and stalking with an interpersonal protection order. But victims in rural areas still face several challenges. For victims of domestic violence in rural areas, they face challenges that victims don't face in urban areas. It's difficult sometimes for them to access services and I know that the domestic violence service providers around here and Appalred, we do our best to go to the victims when we need to. We'll go to their homes, we'll visit them close to where they live, that sort of thing, to try to bring services to them. But it is very difficult. Many people are isolated and there's challenges, cultural challenges in eastern Kentucky. Some people I think aren't aware of the laws to protect them, are accepting of situations sometimes of violence in their homes and their lives and don't realize that they've got the right to say no to that and they have the right to seek help and to get protection. Anyone who may need assistance can contact Turning Point Domestic Violence Services at 1-800-649-6605 or contact Mountain Comprehensive Care Center at 1-800-422-1060. Reporting in Prestonsburg, for EKB News, I'm Jackson Ladder.