February 14, 2019
For Immediate Release
LIGHTFOOT FOUNDATION AWARDS GRANT TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTER PROGRAM
Boise, ID – The Women’s and Children’s Alliance (WCA) has been awarded a grant of $42,000 from the Lightfoot Foundation. The funds will be used to support the WCA’s shelter program, specifically, for operational costs—maintenance, janitorial, security and utilities.
Leaving an abusive relationship is often a high risk decision. For many domestic violence victims, leaving means that they may not be able to immediately find safe housing or properly feed their children and keep them emotionally and physically safe.
In fact, the National Coalition for the Homeless notes that a woman is 70 times more likely to be murdered in the few weeks after leaving her abusive partner than at any other time in the relationship.
This grant allows hundreds of women and children the ability to have a safe night of sleep. In the 2018 fiscal year, the WCA provided 13,197 “safe bed nights” to 179 women and children. The safety and security that the Lightfoot Foundation helps provide is a vital resource for the women and children in our shelter.
The WCA provides a comprehensive and secure 120-day residential shelter program and transitional housing, in confidential locations with round-the-clock staff assistance, private rooms and common living facilities for women and children who are fleeing domestic and/or sexual assault. On-site child care is provided for mothers participating in the residential program. All residents receive the benefit of the WCA’s other services free of charge while residing in our shelters.
“By ensuring the viability and sustainability of the WCA’s shelter program, The Lightfoot Foundation is making a critical contribution to the safety and well-being of domestic violence survivors in our community,” said La Chance.
About the WCA
The Women’s & Children’s Alliance provides safety, healing and freedom from domestic abuse and sexual assault. The WCA operates secure shelters and provides professional counseling, legal advocacy, crisis services and case management to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. For more information, visit www.wcaboise.org.
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