COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund

Essential staff on-site at 720 W. Washington from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Monday – Friday) ready with masks to protect each other.

April 16, 2020

For Immediate Release

COVID – 19 RESPONSE AND RECOVERY FUND FOR IDAHO AWARDS FUNDS TO SUPPORT VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

 Boise, ID – The Women’s and Children’s Alliance (WCA) has been awarded a grant of $ 18,425 from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund for Idaho in the Idaho Community Foundation. The funds will be used to support the WCA’s shelter program, specifically, for operational costs. This grant will provide safety, freedom and healing for many fleeing domestic abuse and sexual assault. Last fiscal year alone, the WCA provided 11,132 “safe bed nights” to 182 women and children.

“With mandates for social distancing, self-quarantine for people possibly exposed to the Coronavirus and isolation for confirmed cases, shelter management has become more complicated, and potentially more hazardous,” said Bev La Chance, WCA Grant Director, “New guidelines have been required to be formulated and implemented.”

Essential WCA program staff members are on-site at the secure domestic violence shelter campus, in the childcare, and at both the Ada County Courthouse and the WCA Crisis Center to assist with protection orders and facilitate safety planning sessions, while clinical and case management staff are providing services telephonically.

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. 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. And in times like we are facing – an unprecedented global health pandemic, domestic violence rates are rising globally and locally.

“We are so grateful for our partnership with the Idaho Community Foundation and for all those who contributed to make this grant possible. Home is not always safe for everyone,” said Bea Black, WCA Chief Executive Officer, “With the 93 percent increase in domestic violence-related calls we received in the first quarter of this year, we know that the need for our services may be greater in the coming days and weeks than any time we have known. We are deeply grateful for the support of those who allow us to provide safety and healing.”

The WCA offers safe shelter, two 24-hotlines, counseling and support groups, court advocacy, financial empowerment and a variety of other integrated services and programs to women, men and children victimized by abuse.

Photo Caption: Essential staff on-site at 720 W. Washington from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Monday – Friday) ready with masks to protect each other./Photo Credit WCA Staff 

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.

 About the Idaho Community Foundation

The Idaho Community Foundation is one of more than 1,600 community foundations around the world and we provide a way for people of all income levels to make a lasting difference in Idaho. ICF serves all 44 Idaho counties and we help build and strengthen communities by bringing people together using the power of collective giving. The Idaho Community Foundation offers grants to nonprofits, schools and other organizations and provides scholarships to students. C

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