BELVIDERE -- The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Warren County has been chosen to receive one of 150 grants awarded by a leading national anti-domestic violence organization, the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation (MKACF).
The $20,000 grant will be used to support emergency shelter, 24-hour hotline and counseling services for victims of domestic violence.
Shelters are feeling the impact of a weak economy. According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, shelter donations are down, but the need for services is increasing. To help make sure needs are met, the foundation started by the late Mary Kay Ash is donating a total of $3 million in grants to shelters in all 50 states.
"This grant gives us much-needed cash and hope at the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center" said Pam Farago, executive director. "The problem of domestic violence in Warren County isn't going away and neither is the need for funding. Programs to help battered women and their children require a lot of resources. We're grateful the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation is stepping up to the plate in helping us help families in Warren County."
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), domestic violence affects one in every four women in the United States. Nationally:
-- The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health services.
-- Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults;
-- 84 percent of spousal abuse victims are female.
The statistics in New Jersey are just as startling. According to the NCADV, in 2006: 73,749 domestic violence offenses were reported; 1,720 women, 1,903 children, and 6 men were sheltered by domestic violence programs; and 3,888 children were involved in and 20,857 were present during a domestic violence offense.
"The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center has helped so many women and their families in Warren County. We know they will use these funds to benefit even more domestic violence survivors and their children," said Jennifer Cook, MKACF board member. "Mary Kay Ash wanted her foundation to help enrich women's lives. All the tragic stories and statistics we hear about domestic violence encourage us to do our part. We know the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center will use these funds to stop domestic violence, and provide help and hope to battered women and children in and around Warren County."